To Do Justice
by Harikonotora
Summary: "Cadmus changes today...no more G-Gnomes suppressing our wills, no more secret breeding projects. This is a kinder, gentler Cadmus." But deep below the Guardian's feet, buried under decades of steel and concrete, hidden within endless rows of containment tubes a pair of glowing green eyes flutter to life. T for violence and mild language.
1. Independence Day

**Author's Note:** And so it begins...I'm not happy with this chapter, not one little bit. So I'll be doing some renovations here and there within the next few days and spiffy it up. I just really wanted to get this done today. Also, please bear with me, I'm still trying to figure out this site so there are alot of little mistakes. I'll get them all smoothed out within a few days.

Did you like what you read? Have questions? Want to see some more art? Come visit my tumblr: **todojustice**

I will try to update this story on the 13th of every month.

 **6/28/15 UPDATE:** Fixed it up at little but I decided to add a whole new section while I'm at it so I re-uploaded it. I will never do this again, you guys are going to get nice, completed chapters here on in.

 **3/1/15 EDIT:** Much thanks to my Beta CharismaBell for shaping up this chapter!

* * *

 **Independence Day**

"Cadmus changes today. With Desmond out of the picture, the Board's placed me in charge. Dr. Spence, you're Acting Chief Scientist."

Guardian's steely eyes drifted from the genomorph to the scientist standing in front of his desk before dropping his gaze down to his complacently folded hands on the cool steel surface. He watched his fingers curl into determined fists before continuing.

"No more G-Gnomes suppressing our wills, no more secret breeding projects...This is a kinder, gentler Cadmus."

Guardian's voice resonated off the cold metal and concrete walls of the lab and carried itself through thin, recycled air, bouncing between dusty test tubes. It echoed down elevator shafts and empty hallways, whittling away to a mere breath of air as it went. The whisper finally died decades below Guardian's feet in a chamber filled with containment tubes that held monstrosities caught in an endless frozen slumber. There were countless rows of icy pods hidden away, buried under a mile of metal and concrete. The only movement among the frozen specimens was the sluggish drifting of the cold fog as it crept between the steel and ice, keeping the inhabitants of the room trapped in their icy and dreamless sleep. Suddenly, something hidden in the dim light stirred, making the shadows twitch. There was an abrupt flash of green that sliced through the dark before flickering out like a dying flashlight. Nestled in an ice cocoon the creature stirred again, it's glowing eyes flickered to life and pierced the gloom.

* * *

It hadn't been a week since Guardian was put in charge of Cadmus and things were already coming undone. Guardian was leaning on his desk, scanning the scattered reports of a wandering child that were strewn across its surface. He had been telling himself for days now that Dr. Spence and the other scientists were seeing things. That the child they saw darting into the shadows of dark corridors and hiding in the corner of their eyes were the hallucinations of a sleep or oxygen deprived brain. The sudden chills they felt and the flickering lights whenever the child appeared were all the after effects of a giant, hulking Desmond tearing through floor after floor of wiring. But now Guardian had seen the child himself. He had caught a flash of a white, gently glowing child shaped creature hiding in a dark corner of the lab before vanishing into the wall.

He placed his hand over one of the reports, written by a clearly shaken scientist. It was guilt. It had to be. He had very nearly gotten the sidekicks killed and his subconscious was administering its own brand of cruel justice, sending a child to haunt his waking hours. The other scientists must also feel a similar sort of guilt, as they all played a part in creating and imprisoning Superboy as well as attempting to clone and dispose of the other young heroes. Guardian crumpled the paper under his hand into his fist, this child couldn't be anything more than a product of tired and suggestible human imagination. He looked up from his musings to see a white figure making its way across the room, his head snapped up, fully prepared to challenge a figment of his guilty conscience only to be greeted with calm regard by Dubbilex. The G-goblin glanced down at the papers scattered about the desk as Guardian reasserted himself and settled back into his chair.

"It appears that you and I share a problem, brother."

Dubbilex paused to gently turn one of the papers to face him, aware that Guardian's eyes were narrowing in frustration but determined that his annoyance wasn't directed at the G-Goblin but rather at the realization of what his words meant.

"This 'white child' had been seen by several of our genomorph brothers."

Guardian said nothing, but he lowered his forehead into his hand and rubbed his eyes thoroughly before rising to face Dubbilex and grabbing a pen.

A weight pressed down onto his chest as he came around to the truth. He doubted genomorphs _could_ hallucinate, and if it was possible it wasn't likely that they would be so suggestible to have visions of a child, much less a human one. The child was real. Dubbilex spoke on behalf each of the genomorphs who had seen the entity, offering a decent description of the child and where it was seen. As soon as he had finished with his report he exited as quietly as he came, leaving Guardian to his thoughts. If the white child wasn't an illusion the next possible theory was that they were dealing with a ghost. Guardian was never one to believe in ghosts, but next to aliens, super-powered humans, and genomorphs a ghost wasn't too far off. He looked over his own hastily scribbled notes carefully. The G-gnomes described a boy maybe 10 or 12, white hair, white skin, wearing something skin tight and black. Tights. Guardian's stomach lurched at the thought that perhaps this was the phantom of some unknown hero or sidekick. Perhaps Desmond had killed the boy in one of his experiments like he had almost done with the young heroes who tried to rescue Superboy or maybe the kid was a failed clone that had been disposed of. Either way, if this really was a ghost his presence in the lab could only mean he met a terrible end. Setting his jaw in determination Guardian made his way down to the floor where the child was last seen.

* * *

Guardian found himself in a deserted lab, staring helplessly at a blank wall, he had made at least a dozen patrols of the floor, checking each room and dark corner for any sign of the child, but there was none to be found, not even the dust was disturbed. He was about to give up when, in the corner of his eye, he saw the child gliding slowly across the room. Fearlessly Guardian turned to face the child who hadn't seemed to notice that he wasn't alone in the room. As Guardian drew closer to the entity he began to see him more clearly through the child's glowing white haze. The kid looked tired, his shoulders were slumped over and his was drifting across the room sluggishly. At a loss of what to do Guardian edged a little closer to the entity before gently calling out,

"Hey..."

The child twitched and immediately darted forward, sliding right through a wall. Guardian set his jaw and ran for the door determined to end this once and for all but soon as the door slid open the boy was already melting into the opposite wall. Guardian dashed madly for the next room and the next. Corridors and laboratories flashed by as Guardian darted between hallways and through doors, plowing past scientists and genomorphs, determined to keep the entity within his sights. After a long and breakneck chase the child was within reach, Guardian reached out to grab him only to have the child literally slip through his fingers like water and melt through the floor. With a frustrated grunt, Guardian gave up the chase and walked away.

After a long and defeated trudge, Guardian reached the elevators. But as the numbers counted down to his floor his bored eyes wandered over to a fire escape map hastily taped to the wall, probably by scientist made wary by the recent faux lab fires. A chilling realization suddenly washed over him and he tore the map from the wall to get a closer look. The spot the child had slipped through the floor was in the room furthest away from any elevator or stairwell. The kid had _led_ him away from the stairs and elevators so he wouldn't be able to follow. He _knew_ the layout of the lab. This wasn't an unthinking entity or a simple shade, this was something intelligent. The elevator chimed softly, announcing it's arrival, but Guardian didn't move. This was a very real threat. This child, ghost, or whatever could have been sent by someone to gather intel or infiltrate the lab. Guardian gritted his teeth and stepped onto the elevator. Even if he could even _find_ the kid there was nothing he could do.

* * *

A day had passed without any sign of the white child, but Guardian was still on edge. Being unable to sit still with something potentially dangerous moving about the building he began a patrol of the largely unoccupied laboratories, checking each empty room with a quick glance. Empty room after room passed Guardian by and the rare scientist or genomorph he encountered had nothing new to offer. He found himself standing in the doorway of Desmond's lab, boredom egging him on to take a closer look inside. After a moment's hesitation curiosity won him over and he stepped over the threshold, letting the hallway cast a dim light over the lab. In the center of the room stood the containment unit for the Blockbuster formula, open and bare, it contents long since destroyed. Guardian glanced at the dead, blank monitors, the unfinished lab notes scattered on top of the tables and lab equipment that was already starting to develop a thin layer of dust. Nothing had changed since Desmond's departure. Guardian made his way to the door but something caught his eye and stopped him in his tracks. In the fine layer of dust on a table just beside the door, there was a small, barely noticeable handprint.

Pulse quickening Guardian began to search the room, checking behind the desks, in cabinets, unsure of what he'd find if he found anything at all. He glanced quickly, almost absently behind a table and caught a glimpse of strange, dark lump huddled in the corner. Guardian hesitated for only a second before cramming his hand into the crevice and giving the lump an awkward but gentle swat but the creature didn't stir. Grunting he shoved the table away from the wall with a screech, letting the lab equipment teeter and fall onto the ground with resounding crashes but the small, dark form still didn't move. Breath catching in his throat he kneeled down to examine the small, dark creature in the dim light. It was a child that was huddled against the wall, matted black hair covered in filth that stuck to his face in long strands and covered his eyes. He looked more like a teenager but he was so thin it was easy to mistake him for a few years younger especially at a distance. Guardian swallowed fearfully as he reached down to touch the child's neck as he searched for a pulse. When a weak beat answered him he released a breath he didn't even know he was holding. He had found the white child and he wasn't a ghost or an illusion or a threat. This was someone alive and in need. Carefully Guardian maneuvered himself into the tight space and gently dragged the child out of the niche. The guardian picked the woefully thin child up and carried the boy out into the light.

* * *

"Cadmus. This is the Watchtower...are you present, Guardian?"

Guardian couldn't remember when he had started trying to make contact with the League or even when he even entered the com room so when Martian Manhunter's alien voice crackled over the speaker he jumped back and scrambled to come up with a reply.

"Yes! We uh..have a kid here...he's really beat up and..."

He paused awkwardly to look around the room for the child and saw him splayed out in one of the large office chairs, head hanging off the armrest like a broken doll. He didn't even know how to describe the kid or even how the League could help but it wasn't like he could take him to a normal hospital. As human as he looked his physiology _had_ to be different, the kid's powers made him unique they made him...

"A child?"

 _...alien._

"I uh...think I have a might have Martian here...a Martian kid."

The was a startled silence on the other end and Guardian took it as an invitation to continue.

"I guess that's a little ridiculous but I've seen the kid walk through walls, float and I guess even change shape..."

The other end of the com link remained silent, Guardian glanced over at the kid again, doubting his theory already and mentally kicking himself for voicing it before thinking it through. The kid was probably a metahuman or even an experiment or clone with _maybe_ some martian DNA thrown in. It might be a little far-fetched to have another full-fledged Martian in his midst.

"But he's a little too white to be-"

" _Beat up?_ "

The martian's voice sounded strained, worried. Guardian hesitated before replying, trying to choose his words carefully to try and reascend his ridiculous martian theory.

"Yes. But now that I-"

"I will come to retrieve her."

"Wait, I don't-"

There was a shuffle and a frustrated grunt from the other end of the com link before Martian Manhunt interrupted Guardian again,

"No. I will have to send someone. Guardian, remain there."

The com abruptly faded into static and left Guardian in silence. He walked over to the child be for gingerly picking him up, going over the conversation in his head. Something in the conversation's mess of confusion stood out to him.

"Her..?"


	2. Clipped Wings

**Author's Note** : So sorry for the late chapter, I may of gotten distracted by cartoons. *shifty eyes* Anyway in the event this happens again, please look forward to the next update on the 13th of the next month with a little something extra to make up for the wait. :)

l would love a beta. I'm poking around myself but if you're interested please PM me. I need someone familiar with both Danny Phantom and Young Justice.

Did you like what you read? Have questions? Want to see some more art? Come visit my tumblr: todojustice

* * *

"You brought a civilian onto the Watchtower?"

Batman's seething anger could hardly be detected but Flash had worked with the Bat long enough to know when he was mad. The speedster didn't pay his anger much heed though and fiddled with the wrapper to an energy bar as they walked briskly down the hall leading to the med bay. It wasn't as if they hadn't expected the Watchtower to eventually let on a civilian staff but Batman was...well Batman and he insisted on selecting janitors as carefully as he selected members of the League. For now the entire Watchtower was a secret populated entirely by heroes and it seemed like the paranoid Bat wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

"Well there was this whole misunderstanding with Guardian and Martian Manhunter and his niece-"

The Flash paused to take a large bite of his energy bar before continuing with his mouth half full,

"-anyway it's all sorted out now, 'cept now we have a kid on the Watchtower. "

He hesitated and turned to his teammate, swallowing before speaking earnestly to him,

"The kid looks pretty messed up, Bats, right now we might be the only people who can help him."

Batman sighed, and paused just outside the med bay turning to Flash with an edge of severity in his voice.

"Did Guardian say anything about our new guest?"

"Well, not much at first. But after we went to get the kid and found out he wasn't exactly a lil' green martian we called him back up. He said...well he said the kid _might_ be a threat. He's got a grab bag of Martian powers after all. But he's unconscious now, been that way for awhile."

"Who is he?"

"Dunno, Guardian found him floating around Cadmus."

"A clone then?"

The only answer Batman received was a shrug as Flash took another large bite of his energy bar.

"So we know next to nothing about him."

An affirmative nod.

Batman retreated away from the conversation and into thoughts staring out at the stars through a large window. If he decided the child was an immediate threat to the League the kid would have to find help elsewhere, the other Leaguers would no doubt trust his judgement. They didn't know who he was or what side he was on. With his martian abilities he'd be able to go anywhere and do anything without being detected. With the right info delivered to the wrong people he could bring them down or at the very least deal some serious damage. But the child needed help and the same martian abilities that made him a threat could very well prevent him from receiving appropriate medical attention. No one on earth knew as much as the League did about Martians and their powers. It didn't take long for Batman to reach a decision and as he turned to Flash, who was nonchalantly chewing another bite of his energy bar, he realized that the speedster knew from the beginning what his decision would be. Flash glanced at Batman with a knowing smile on his face before they started making their way to the one occupied room in the med bay.

"I want him off the Watchtower as soon as he's fit. After this I don't want any civilians aboard the Watchtower without my approval first."

They had reached the room and as the door slid open Flash chuckled,

"Oh boy, you are going to be so mad at me."

An unconscious child was lying on the bed already hooked up to an IV and heart monitor, but something else caught Batman's attention. Standing beside the bed was a women with short, curly hair wearing slightly faded but still very bright and very noticeable rainbow scrubs. She had been using her stethoscope to examine the child and she turned to the two Leaguers when they entered with it still in her hand and secured in her ears. She glanced between the two of them nervously through big round spectacles before speaking a little too loudly and with a little too much gusto,

"Wonderful weather we're having!"

Batman stared at her blankly before snapping his head to stare with narrowed eyes at Flash, who at some point in the last few seconds had shoved the remainder of his energy bar into his mouth and was now chewing it slowly with a ridiculous grin on his face. Unphased by silent room the women continued with the same chipper gusto,

"It's a joke. Get it? There's no weather."

The stranger's smile faltered only slightly at the continued lack of amusement from her two-person audience.

"'Cause we're in space."

* * *

In the moment it took for Batman to gather himself Flash slipped away and left him alone with the strange women. After her failed attempt to lighten the mood she had returned to her rudimentary medical examination in awkward silence, a silence that Batman was grateful for. He turned his attention to the child barely recognizable under the layers of filth that had already marred the medical bay's pristine white sheets. The child was quiet and still, his chest moving in slow but steady breaths.

"What do you know about him?"

"Respiratory rate is a steady 13, pulse a thready 61, blood preassure is 90 over 60..."

She had paused her examination and was rattling off information rather quickly in a dull and calculated tone before actually registering who she was talking to. A little color perked up her cheeks and she continued speaking but now slowly and more carefully with the natural cheer returning to her voice,

"..all pretty low, but within normal range. Um... I'd say he's around 13 to 15 years of age. His temperature is 94.7 degrees, which would normally be an alarming indicator of hypothermia but..."

She gestured at the teen, who was lying peacefully still on the white sheets and in no obvious distress,

"I'm guessing that temperature might be normal for him."

She adjusted her glasses before glanced up at Batman, who was nodding absently. Assured that he was understanding the steam of data flowing from her mouth she continued with a little more confidence,

"I'm was just finishing palpating his abdomen, and everything seems to be healthy and uh...human. Surprisingly there doesn't _seem_ to be any injuries but..."

The woman drew her hands away from the child and finished her examination before straightening up and speaking in a low, strained voice,

"There are signs of past abuse, being bound...beaten..."

She had to swallow her pity before continuing and had reached down to rub the child's shoulder with her thumb in slow, comforting motions, though it was probably more to comfort herself than the teen. Batman gently approached her, reaching to place a consoling hand on her shoulder but she gathered herself and he drew back,

"From what I can see it's the worst I've ever seen and I've seen more than I care to admit."

She pulled away from her patient abruptly with a sense of urgency and determination that bled into her voice,

"He's stable and he responds well to stimuli. I expect he should wake up soon. I won't be able to do a more thorough examination until we get him cleaned up and conscious. But..."

She turned to batman, touching a determined nut gentle hand to his arm and spoke with a strange sort of determination in her voice.

"...before that he needs a detective."

As Batman nodded as he stepped forward the stranger left in silence and Batman was alone with the child. The quiet cleared his head, allowing him to concentrate on his work. Despite his determination to distance himself found himself analyzing the teen with more compassion than calculation. Batman buried all of his concern and pity without a moment's hesitation, he had to remain calm, calculated and cold in order to help. The teen was covered in filth, there were large patches of dried blood that clung to his skin and stained his tattered clothes in layers of mottled brown. Streaked on top of the brown were unidentifiable black stains, but even more mysterious was a dark and sticky green substance that effectively hid the half of his body not covered in blood from scrutiny. The detective took samples of anything that clung to the teen, gently scraping up dried and sticky flakes of the strange substances. Batman started carefully going over the teen and meticulously filled his small vials with whatever he could use to find out who this child was and what happened to him. He glanced at the teen's peacefully unconscious face before gently pulling a few blood and filth stiffened black hairs from the child head and returning to his work.

Batman was finishing his examination with a nail scraping. As he grasped his subject's small hand to collect the sample the bony fingers twitched, startling the detective into glancing at the teen's face and catching sight of his now open eyes. Blue eyes. Hauntingly empty and half lidded blue eyes that were as lifeless as cold stone, blankly staring at the ceiling. The color of his eyes startled Batman and a sudden thought invaded his mind. It could have been Dick. Just the thought of it shook Bruce and uncovered his buried compassion and his fears. He had to take a step back and suffer a moment of weakness. Only a moment though. A blink of an eye later and he steeled himself before returning his attention to the child and steering his voice into a calculated and calm tone,

"Are you alright?"

Nothing. When he spoke again Batman couldn't help it when a gentleness softened his voice,

"Can you tell me your name?"

The child only stared unresponsively at the ceiling, his gaze fixed in a dull stupor. Cautiously the detective raised his hand in front of the teen's eyes and waved. But those blue sullied pools didn't track the movement or blink, not even the steady tempo of his breathing changed. Batman withdrew, staring at the comatose child in front of him and swallowed the heavy, dry weight that had begun pressing up against his throat. They were too late.

* * *

Laughter was the first thing Batman heard when he walked out into the hallway. It was stark and almost disturbing contrast to the suffocating quiet that now blanketed the teen's room. The cheerful sounds were coming from a room a few doors down and he could make out the conversation as it was carried down the hall.

"...comes into the hospital sayin' 'Oh, doc! Its terrible, my nephew was riding his bike when he was hit by a car!' But it's the kid's third high speed injury in a year and I'm starting to get a little suspicious. So I ask him "Was he wearing his seatbelt?' Do you know what he says next?"

Batman stepped through the doorway just in time to see a rare smile of mirth cross over Martian Manhunter's face as he shook his head. The martian hovering barely an inch off the floor as the stranger examined him, cheerfully chatting as her eyes and hands poked and prodded the alien. Flash was standing off to the side with his slightly red face shied away into one hand.

"He gets all huffed up, 'Of course he was! We were all wearing our seatbelts.' And he goes of a 5 minute tirade about how important seatbelts are while poor Kid Flash is sitting there absolutely mortified because The Flash was blowing his secret identity for _seatbelt safety_."

There was a polite chuckle from the martian and a short, exasperated one from Flash who was still a little red. The cheeriest laughter came from the brightly colored doctor herself. She pulled away from the martian when she noticed Batman lurking in the doorway and turned to face him, breath still stuttering with laughter. Batman cut through the cheer stone faced and disturbed and the laughter died. The doctor suddenly dipped down, almost like a sprinter preparing at the start line, ready to bolt to her patient in the other room at the slightest hint of trouble. Batman shook his head gently.

"He's woken up."

There was no sense of comfort in his voice though, and while the doctor didn't make a mad dash out of the room her pace was brisk and she nearly shoved Batman aside as she exited. Her stride was uneven and loping, like a rabbit bounding forward. The Dark Knight trailed behind her, keeping pace.

"'I've seen more than I care to admit.'"

She turned her head to face Batman when he spoke, walk slowing but not stopping,

"What?"

"It wasn't by chance that you were saw Kid Flash that day. You're a Child Abuse Pediatrician, you specialize in cases like this...that's why Flash brought you here."

The woman stopped briefly to give Batman a sad smile, "Crime fighting looks a lot like child abuse..."

When they reached the room Batman hesitated to go inside, lingering as the doctor looked expectantly back at him from the teen's side. He couldn't go in and face the broken child who looked so much like his young ward. He felt...fear. the doctor gave Batman a reassuring smile,

"If you have other things to attend to it'll take me at least an hour to get him all cleaned up."

After one final glance at the child across the room Batman jerked his head in a curt and appreciative nod and turned to leave.

* * *

Batman spent his hour halfheartedly sharing monitor duty with Martian Manhunter. He steadily filled his mind with strategies and plans, pushing away thoughts of the empty blue eyes. He found himself standing outside of the occupied med bay room 10 minutes shy of a full hour, listening to the soothing murmurer of the doctor within before opening the door. The doctor was damp, her rainbow scrubs were darker in some places than others. Her curly brown hair was a sight to behold. It had dried faster than the rest of her and was now in wild curls that haloed her head, sticking up in odd angles forming an unusual sort of crown. In her arms was the teen, lying limply against her wrapped in an impossibly thick and fuzzy towel. She turned to welcome Batman into the room with a smile, but she never stopped speaking gentle and soothing words to the teen. The doctor gently lay the teenager down on the bed.

"This is Batman...he's going to take care of you now, alright?"

Of course there was no answer from the comatose teen, but the doctor didn't care and continued in her gentle tones,

"I'm going to leave, but he won't hurt you, he's only trying to help."

Nothing she said stirred any response in the teen, but there wasn't even the slightest amount of disappointment on the Doctor's face. She folded the towel over her arm and placed a clipboard in Batman's hands before shuffling out of the room clearly exhausted. Batman glanced over the clipboard, filled with detailed but hastily written notes. It was barely legible. He put the clipboard down and looked at the teen, examining the teenager for himself.

The haunting blue eyes were closed and his chest was rising to the time of the steady beat of the heart monitor. The boy's dark hair had been given an almost militaristic short cut, revealing a network of light scars across his head with one particularly gruesome one just behind his left temple made even clearer by the absence of hair. The scar was nearly an centimeter deep and a little more than an inch around, it looked almost like a bullet wound, something that Batman was dangerously familiar with. His eyes traveled downward, glancing at every scar, analyzing it and coming to a conclusion about how it was received. Electrical burns, chafing metal cuffs, nicks from scalpels and probes. Batman's eyes settled on a scar running down the boy's neck, it was a deep, horizontal line that began at his chin and followed a straight, clean line down. Eyes following the scar's path, Batman gently tugged away the sheets, revealing the pale and far too thin body of the teen. The deep scar didn't stop at the child's neck, it continued down splitting his entire chest in half, the line wasn't completely straight or clean either, it was littered with sudden curves and little jagged nicks. Batman was betrayed by his analytical mind, suddenly he standing there with the child, watching him struggle, watching him fight against the blade, but every time the moved the hand holding the blade would slip. It was too much for Batman and after hastily replacing the blanket he stumbled out of the room.

He had to...avenge him? He had to bring those who hurt him this way to justice? He had to...

Go home.

Batman needed to see Alfred and Dick. He needed to make sure that Richard was alright and he needed to see his young ward with his own eyes.

* * *

It wasn't long before Batman found himself in the Batcave, surrounded by computer screens, rubbing his tired eyes. After seeing Dick safe and sound asleep in bed Batman had begun analyzing the samples he collected from the teen. A glaring "No Match" blinked steadily on his screen. He couldn't spend anymore time on the child, as much as he wanted justice for the boy he was only a single person in a world of people that needed him. Batman closed the program with a sigh, and turned his attention to another file, bringing it up onto the screen. A man with a cocky grin across his face and a glass of champagne in hand stared back at him through the screen, seemingly aware of the covert photo being taken of him. Across the top of the screen in bold letters was the man's name: VLADIMIR MASTERS.

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Ermegerd Batman was incredibly hard to do. Why did I make him such a prominent character. ;-;


	3. Hidden

Happy Halloween! Apologies for the late update (again) I've been dealing with some personal stuff. I hope with this special Halloween update all will be forgiven. Hopefully I will also be able to do some art things for Ectober and pull out some last minute submissions today as the entire month of October has been extremely hectic for me.

Enjoy ;)

Did you like what you read? Have questions? Want to see some more art? Come visit my tumblr: todojustice

* * *

Vladamir Masters was a dangerous man. He had come into wealth and power overnight, building a network of connections and businesses within mere months, a feat that had taken the Wayne family generations to accomplish. It didn't take long for Batman to turn his attention to him and soon Bruce Wayne was showing up to every gala, ball, party or charity event that had Vlad Masters on the guest list. Bruce had shaken his hand, made small talk and counted Vlad among his... "friends". Batman had looked Vlad in the eye and saw another Luther in the making, the same air of superiority, the cockiness, and the slight touch of insanity that made him all the more dangerous. Keeping tabs on Vladamir Masters wasn't easy he slipped out of sight with an ease that was almost supernatural and won over hearts and minds with that same unnatural ease. Vlad glided up to the top and was mere pennies away from surpassing Bruce in wealth. Batman could feel that Vlad nearing his end game, it wouldn't be long until he made his move...but he suddenly stopped. Vladamir Masters dropped off the grid, he no longer attended parties or events, his vast amounts of wealth started to slowly dwindle. At first Batman thought that his sudden absence might be the calm before the storm and kept an even closer watch but months passed and nothing happened. Then a year. Then another. Vladamir Masters began to fade from Batman's long list of worries. Nearly three years later and Masters reappeared. He was attending a banquet to celebrate the opening of a children's hospital that Vlad had funded almost entirely himself. It was in a small, out of the way city that was nearly a 8 hour round trip by jet. It didn't take much for Bruce get on the guest list and he was more than happy to add a new wing to the hospital.

Bruce used the long plane ride to catch up on sleep and allow himself a rare moment of relaxation to enjoy the stars, though the view from the tower was a far superior one. When Bruce arrived at the banquet a full hour late he was surprised to find that Vladimir had yet to arrive. Bruce had always considered the man to be punctual and meticulous. Given nothing to do he meandered around and made small talk with strangers. The banquet was small and meagerly funded but it had a homey and cozy feel, something that should of driven a man like Masters away. There was no one attending that Bruce recognized, none of Vlad's known acquaintances were present, the sloppily molded ice swan in the center of the hall alone would of sent Vlad running for the door. Nothing sat right with Bruce and as the night dragged on his mind began to race. This could be a trap designed to drag Batman out into the open leagues away from the nearest Zeta Tube. Another hour passed with each minute filling Bruce's mind with paranoia and plans. The food had been served and the banquet was halfway over when Vlad arrived. He was ushered to a table across the room from Bruce but even from that distance the detective observed his uncharacteristic slouch and shuffle. It was nothing like the Vlad he had known and it did nothing to put Batman at ease.

After the meal was over the majority of crowd lingered at their respective tables, content to making small talk with their neighbors. More than a few broke off to speak to acquaintances or to catch fresh air or a smoke break on one of the stone balconies surrounding the hall. Batman's sharp eyes saw Vlad slip away alone out of one of the balcony doors and he followed close behind. Vlad had his back to the door and his silhouette blended into the dark night, he was wearing his typical black suit, cleanly pressed. His hair was tied back into his typical ponytail, but it was...off. Everything about him felt off.

"A beautiful night, isn't it."

Vlad's voice was slurred slightly but it still had that posh tone to it. He turned to face Batman, a scowl on his face, teetering slightly where he stood, obviously drunk. This wasn't the Vlad that Batman had been so wary of. Masters had the shadow of a beard on his face and bags under his eyes. Now that Bruce had gotten closer to the man he could tell grey hair was tied back but it was hardly neat with small strands sticking out every which way. He suit may of been cleanly pressed, but he was missing his tie, and the collar was crinkled in a way that Batman knew he must of tied it over and over again before giving up.

"It is."

Bruce's voice was measured and calculated. As he spoke he walked over to the the stone railing to lean against it, a cautious few feet away from Vlad, keeping his eyes trained on the weary looking man. Masters seemed to have lost interest in Bruce and returned to staring at the stars and sipping a glass of champagne. Bruce pretended to do the same but kept his eyes trained on the other man. There was a silence between them that was in tune with the whine of cicadas, cricket song, and the bustle of the party behind them. Vlad was the first to break the silence again, though it was a barely audible drunk mutter.

"...loved the stars..."

Vlad's forehead suddenly crinkled with an unknown sort of emotion and he trained his eyes on his half- empty champagne glass resting on the rail, running a thin finger over the rim, making the glass cry out a sad note.

"Fancy seeing you, Bruce, all the way out here."

"I could say the same to you, Mr. Masters."

"You came all this way to keep an eye on me, I'm flattered."

Bruce eyed the other man warily and suddenly Vlad laughed, it came out like a cough and was short and bitter,

"I can't even come out to mourn them? They can't leave me be for just this one night?"

Bruce's head snapped toward him, eyes betraying his confusion but Vlad wasn't paying attention to the other man, only to his own woes. He snapped at Bruce again with a voice that was frustrated and muddled with drink.

"It was so good to see you again. We simply must do this again"

Vlad emptied what little was left of his drink into the bushes below the balcony and walked off into the noise of the party. Bruce waited a few seconds to follow, but when he scanned the sparse hall Vlad was nowhere to be found.

* * *

The flight back was shorter and his time on the plane was so full of thoughts, theories and plans he scarcely noticed the hours passing. Vladimir Masters was an undeniably powerful man, he may of lacked some of Luther's influence and connections to the underworld but he was just as much of a threat as him. He doubted this man would of halted his plans even if he had known Bruce was Batman. Vlad must of mistaken Bruce for an agent of some unknown force. Despite all of Vlad's wealth and subsequent power someone, somewhere had shut him up. It put Bruce on edge thinking that someone more powerful than Vlad was unknown and lurking in the shadows.

When he finally returned to Gotham he immediately set to work in the Batcave trying to uncover the mysterious person that was plaguing Vlad only to be distracted by another thread twitching in his web of information. Santa Prisca had stopped all communications and shipments of Venom. Normally he would investigate himself but... Batman turned to stare at Robin's costume, proudly displayed beside his own. This was the perfect mission to get the team's feet wet, not to mention it would mean checking off one task on Batman's already burdensome list. He began to arrange blueprints and satellite images of the island, intending to give the team every advantage he could before he let them out on their own. He smirked as he worked, imagining Dick's future excitement, but as his young ward drifted into his mind another teen followed close behind, staring at Bruce with dead, haunted eyes. Batman picked up the pace and finished just in time to take the last shift of monitor duty at the watchtower.

When Batman arrived on the tower he immediately headed over to the med bay. The doors to the teens room slid open silently and he was greeted by the sounds of a rock-n-roll band who's name he couldn't quite place and the once rainbow clad doctor dancing awkwardly in the middle of the room. The teen was still staring, blissfully unaware, at a blank wall. Batman strode up to the doctor who was unaware of his presence and caught a glimpse of a very familiar symbol decorating her scrubs. It was Superman's easily recognizable shield, patterned in brilliant red over what seemed to be black and white images of the Man of Steel himself similar to a collage of newsprint photos.

"Are you sure that's entirely appropriate?"

The woman leapt when she heard Batman's voice and immediately grabbed a remote to turn the music down. She spoke with a little nervous embarrassment in her voice,

"What?"

"Your scrubs, do you think they're appropriate to be wearing here of all places."

She glanced down at herself, then back at Batman with a cheeky smirk,

"I could think of no better place to wear them."

Batman's lips twitched his disapproval but he said nothing more and turned his attention to the teen. He noticed a few more changes, the most noticeable one being a feeding tube. Batman glanced over to the doctor who was marking things on a clipboard and largely ignoring the older man.

"Did your examination of Martian Manhunter provide any useful information?"

The doctor glanced back up at Batman, placing her clipboard under her arm,

"No, there was nothing beneficial he could provide when his physiology was compared with the patient...in fact I would say that they aren't related at all."

"I see. Would you...would you say that this child has anymore need of League assistance?"

There was a slight pause before the doctor continued as she considered her options and flipped briefly through the papers on her clipboard, she sighed before answering,

"No, in fact I think being on the Watchtower is hindering his recovery. He needs an MRI and doctors who specialize in these sort of cases. You also have to consider that he may remain like this for a very long time...maybe even the rest of his life, you might want to look into some long term care for him."

Batman nodded in affirmation. The teen didn't need help from the Leauge anymore at least physically, he clearly wasn't a martian or any strain of alien that the league could help with. There was nothing more any of them could do other than make him comfortable. The doctor and the detective shared a knowing glance, and almost ashamed the doctor returned to her clipboard and the Bat turned to left the room, monitor duty would give him time to clear his head.

It was a slow night that only allowed the Bat to dwell on the problems facing him. Batman welcomed the distraction when J'onn slid up behind him, he greeted the martian when he neared the console.

"A quiet night tonight."

"Indeed."

They stood there in silence before J'onn broke it, a measured worry creeping into his voice.

"How is our young guest?"

Batman drew his face into a grimace that awnsered J'onn's question, but his eyes still remained locked on the console.

"J'onn...could you possibly help him? Pull him out of his own mind somehow?"

The martian shook his head sadly,

"I have already tried. The child...I can only describe it as fear. He was afraid, afraid of me and my presence within his mind. He hid himself from me, I felt that if I pried further it would only cause him harm."

"Perhaps that's all it is...perhaps he's only afraid."

* * *

The Bat returned to his cave as the sun rose on Gotham and began dividing his time researching both Santa Prisca and the unknown entity plaguing Vladimir Masters. Progress was slow on Vlad, he had been silent for nearly three years after all and there was no new information that Batman hadn't already gathered. He paused staring at the blueprints to the Santa Prisca facility with his mind full of every meticulous detail in the short conversation he had with Vlad. Alfred appeared with some breakfast, glancing at the large screen littered with both images from the island and the hospital as he set down the tray of food that would most likely go cold before Bruce touched it.

"Santa Prisca and Fenton Memorial Hospital? I do hope a children's hospital has nothing to do with Venom."

Bruce's laugh was worn and tired,

"I'm just multitasking a little. How's Dick?"

"Up bright and early and training in the Gymnasium. Would you like me to fetch him for you?"

"That won't be necessary, thank you Alfred."

Alfred had pushed his train of thought toward Fenton Memorial Hospital, and suddenly Vlad's tired voice was echoing in his mind.

"I can't even come out to mourn them?"

Fenton Memorial Hospital.

A few keystrokes later and Batman pulled up a newspaper article for the Fenton family. It was an obituary detailing an unfortunate accidental explosion caused by ill-maintained lab equipment that claimed the lives of the family of four. They had lived in the same small city where the Fenton Memorial Hospital was being built, Amity Park. Each family member had their own paragraph on how the world loss without them. He briefly skimmed through each of their obituaries. A loving mother and a brilliant inventor, a devout husband and a creative genius and their daughter... Batman couldn't help but wince a little when found the picture of a young red headed girl smiling confidently at him through the screen. She had been just little older than M'gann. The paragraph beside her picture was brimming with praise for the young woman. She was a star student, destined for college and great things afterward. Batman lingered on her for a while, reading about her academic accomplishments and her bright personality before scrolling down. Daniel Fenton. They had used a school photo, complete with an awkward smile on the dark-haired boy's face. His paragraph was the shortest, barely stating that he was a loving son and loyal friend. The kid had been killed before he really had a chance to do anything with his life.

Batman pulled away from the console with a defeated sigh, this family must have been related Vlad somehow and whatever organization was threatening him must have killed them to send a message using the explosion as a cover. More thoughts flitted through the Bat's head as he considered more theories. As he thought his eyes wandered across the screen before settling back on the youngest child again, stopping on his bright blue eyes. Batman knew those eyes, they were unmistakable though now they were dead and cold. It was the boy in the Watchtower. There was a long moment of shock before his eyes darted to the side, scanning the paragraph again. At the end of it, separate from the rest of the paragraph was a short message:

A hero that will never be forgotten.


	4. Within Reach

It was a long night of research. Daniel hadn't shown up on any of the results because he was legally dead. The official statement was that his body had turned to ash in the explosion there was not even a logged DNA sample for comparison. The remains of Daniel's family, however, had been recovered and were even identifiable. It was an inconsistency but one that had been overlooked and pushed under the rug. Daniel's 'death' was another infuriating mystery that aggravated Batman. The detective had done also more research on the rest of the Fentons. They had been an eccentric family obsessed with ghosts, sometimes even reckless in their pursuit of them. The explosion originated from what was an apparently portal created to observe and study ghosts. The Fenton's connection to Vlad was through this portal, he had helped create it back when they were all in college and he apparently maintained a friendship with the Fentons that ultimately led to their demise.

A hero that will never be forgotten.

Ghost.

Amity Park.

It didn't take much detective work to lead him to an old Amity Park Daily article with the headline, 'GHOST BOY: HERO OR VILLAIN?' There was Daniel again, wearing a confident grin that took up most of a black and white photo though this time his hair was white and he was wearing tights. They had called him Invis-o-Bill. Batman spent the next hour reading through newspaper articles and old blogs detailing Invis-o-Bill's short career as a superhero.

A thorny, writhing mass began to grow in the Bat's chest and it weighed him down as he read. This kid wanted to do good. He wanted to save people. He wanted everyone in his small city to be safe. He wanted to be a hero. Batman couldn't help but feel the guilt grow inside him. There was no doubt in the Bat's mind that the League had inspired this kid. Daniel was just barely figured out his powers before he was snatched away and torn apart because of them. Batman never knew of him, the League never knew him. Daniel might of been an ally or even a future Leaguer if Batman had played closer attention to a small city on the other side of the country. The guilt writhed in his chest but it only made him more determined to find justice for Daniel Fenton.

* * *

Batman had maintained a calm demeanor when he sent the team off on their mission but his thoughts were divided between his young ward and Daniel. It wasn't long before he was back on the watchtower and striding toward's the med bay. Halfway there he saw Daniel's cheery doctor strolling down the opposite hall with a bounce in each step. She was now wearing a strange black lab coat, as Batman approached her a cheshire like grin began to spread across her face. Then the Bat noticed her scrubs. They were all black with his bat symbol in a horrific yellow and dark grey littered across the garmet.

"Good evening!"

Batman stood in silence, unable to return the greeting, staring at the doctor is disbelief. She stifled a laugh as she turned and slipped into the medbay. Batman followed shortly after and reached Daniel's room a moment after the doctor. But, even as she was explaining Daniel's condition, the Bat could't help but stare at the gaudy scrubs. He found it hard to believe companies even made scrubs like that and he found himself wondering what sort of profit they would see from utilizing the Leauge's symbols like that. Was there a Green Lantern one? That had the corps insignia? Would they even know where that symbol came from? What it meant?

Batman swept the thoughts from his mind and turned his attention back to Daniel. He was awake, blank eyes staring off in a random direction. Despite all that had happened to the kid, he had fought the good fight, no matter how short his time in the battle was. Daniel deserved to be treated like a hero, he deserved a secret identity. Batman turned to the doctor,

"Please, leave us alone for a minute."

There was a moment of surprised silence from the doctor and she fidgeted, clearly trying to come up with a excuse to say no, but she didn't find one. The doctor left the room without a fuss and Batman approached the teen and quietly took a seat at his bedside. Batman had found a hospital in Switzerland where Daniel would be comfortable for the rest of his life if need be. Daniel would be hidden, far away from the people who did this to him. Awkwardly Batman placed a hand on the far too thin and far too pale wrist of the teen, wondering if the kid would even understand if he told him where he was going and if he did how would Daniel feel about being sent halfway around the world? All Batman knew was that if the same thing happened to Robin his young ward would want to stay, he would want to fight, but Batman didn't know Daniel. There was no one who would be able to take care of him in the League either, even if he did wake up there was no one who knew anything about his ghost powers. Briefly Batman thought about Vlad, wondering if the billionaire would even be willing to take Daniel in. The man was clearly no longer a threat, but if Vlad saw the state Daniel was in... Batman couldn't be sure that this wouldn't give the man the drive to return to his nefarious plans.

Batman hoped it wouldn't come to that. If Daniel could wake up now he wouldn't have to be sent away. Depending on his condition he might even be able to join the team and maybe even seek justice for himself. With careful movements Batman leaned a bit closer to Daniel's face and spoke as softly and as gently as he could,

"Daniel?"

Daniel blinked. A breath of anticipation caught in Batman's throat,

"Daniel...it's alright, you're safe now. No one is going to hurt you here."

The words may of come out a bit too fast but they were clear and calm. But...nothing happened, Daniel's pulse and breathing remained indifferent to Batman knowing his name. There was no movement, no spark of life in his eyes. That blink was just a blink. Defeated, Batman leaned back in his chair, he had hoped that just by hearing his name, just by hearing something familiar that he would be able to return to the living.

"I'm going to take you to a hospital, far away from here, where no one can hurt you. Somewhere...somewhere where you'll be safe."

Batman spoke quietly, almost muttering to himself rather than trying to explain things to the broken teenager. There was nothing but silence as Batman sat with the teen, letting the minutes slip past until the door opened and the doctor stepped through. He quietly stood up and escorted her back out into the hallway, suddenly desperate to leave the silent room. It took Batman another minute before he cleared his throat and turned to the doctor,

"I've arranged for him to be transferred to a hospital."

"So soon?"

"You said yourself that being on the watchtower is hindering his recovery."

The doctor nodded and looked out the window, enraptured by the stars,

"I guess I thought we'd be able to stay a bit longer...it's beautiful up here."

Batman glanced out the window into the cold, empty black and nodded in agreement.

* * *

It took the both of them a half hour to get Daniel ready for zeta beam transport with Batman constantly checking his various gadgets for news on the Team's progress during the entire process. It was a challenge moving both Daniel and the numerous machines he was still hooked up to. The various monitors and devices had been carefully strapped onto the wheelchair the teen was in. They had made it as far as the main room before the Doctor suddenly rushed off to retrieve one last item from another room, begging Batman to wait just a few minutes longer. It was quiet again, even with the steady beeps and hisses of the machines monitoring Daniel's every heartbeat and breath. Batman found himself looking out the window once again, seeking comfort in the countless twinkling lights. Ever since he met Daniel he had found himself staring at the stars and admiring them. Suddenly something in his mind clicked and a barely remembered drunk mutter flooded his mind.

"...loved the stars..."

Batman glanced down at Daniel again.

Maybe.

Batman wheeled the teen over to face one of the enormous windows before kneeling down and watching for any sign that Daniel was still in there somewhere.

Nothing. Only the stars were reflected in his empty eyes.

Batman sighed, turning away from the teen. Daniel would live a comfortable life, it was the least Batman could do. No matter how hard the Bat tried to convince himself that he was doing all that he could to help the poor kid it still didn't feel like enough. Batman sighed before dialing Alfred who would be able to direct his call to the Hospital in Switzerland. As it was ringing out the doctor walked in before freezing before a look of pure astonishment grew on her face

Then several things happened at once:

There was a crash behind Batman.

There was a dull shatter as the doctor dropped whatever it was she had been holding.

Alfred picked up the phone.

Batman turned slowly with his head leading and his body following after. The doctor sprinted forward, bounding like a frightened rabbit, it couldn't of been a second before she was by Daniel's side. Daniel was sprawled out on the floor, wheelchair rolling back lazily. Batman approached slowly keeping his eyes trained on the teen.

"Sir...?"

Alfred sounded worried, but his voice somehow failed to reach Batman who was still slowly walking up to the teenager. Batman stared at the child, who now had his forehead pressed up against the glass, fervently staring out at the stars. As Batman approached the child he noticed the tears now drowning out the dull blue eyes. The tears streaked down his young, scarred face and his hands reached up to tremble against the window, almost as if he were trying to reach out and touch the stars. There was an overjoyed yet frail smile flickering across the teen's face.

"Sir...are you alright?"

Alfred's calm yet worried voice snapped him out of his amazed stupor.

"Yes Alfred. Please connect me to..."

Batman trailed off as he looked down at Daniel and the doctor who was silent and now wrapping a blanket around his thin shoulders.

"Please connect me to Vladimir Masters."


	5. Tremors

**Author's Note:** So sorry for the awfully late update moving and work got in the way of writing. I have some story related art up on Tumblr as well if you'd like to take a look : todojustice

I've gotten just a bit ahead on writing so updates should be more frequent

* * *

The phone fell out of Vlad's hand and bounced off of several glass bottles before skidding across the floor and stopping in the center of his office. Vlad stared at it in a daze before he walked over to it and knelt on the ground to retrieve it, he couldn't keep his hands from trembling as he brought it back up to his ear. Still kneeling he whispered into the phone, voice barely above a whisper,

"What did you say?"

The gruff voice on the other end almost sounded amused when he answered,

"We found Daniel Fenton, he's alive but..."

Nothing else the man said mattered and though the stranger's voice continued to speak Vlad couldn't hear a word. Daniel was alive. Vlad had given up all hope of seeing anyone from the Fenton family again. The voice on the phone continued to go on but the only thing that penetrated the disbelief was that Daniel would be transferred to Fenton Memorial. Still in a daze he muttered into the receiver,

"Yes. Of course."

Then hung up abruptly, too euphoric to bother with a goodbye or thank you. Vlad was still kneeling on the hard wooden surface of his office's floor. The room was dark to accommodated the hangover from the night before that was still pounding against his skull but he hardly minded it anymore. He clutched the phone to his chest over his rapidly beating hear. Daniel was _alive_. Vlad's world was spinning. The dust that glittered in the little shafts of that light spilled through the cracks in the doors and curtains felt like fragile glimmers of hope as they danced around him. Vlad stared up at the light, a grin on his worn face. It was the first time he had felt anything like this in _years_.

As Vlad scrambled up from the ground a numbing thought drifted into his mind. _This could be a trap_. They hadn't given him any proof that Daniel really was alive. He hadn't bothered to ask who was calling or where they had found Daniel. A familiar weariness invaded Vlad and he stood in the center of the office, staring at the phone which now had an impressive crack on it's screen. His mind raced as he paced his office and thought up strategies and plans to worm his way out. He had circled his office twice before he realized that he didn't care. It wasn't as if he had much to live for anyway. If there was even a chance he got to see Daniel, _Maddie's_ son, it would all be worth it. Even so, if this was a trap Vladimir Masters wouldn't go down without a fight. Vlad tore open the door and stepped out into the light, wincing when the sudden brightness speared its way his alcohol plagued mind. He shook it off and marched down the hall with fevered determination heading towards his lab and secret armory. Nothing could keep him from Daniel now.

* * *

Silence.

Vlad had hung up abruptly leaving Batman to wonder if informing him was the right course of action or if the man was sober enough to even care. Though Daniel was awake he was still very...fragile. Perhaps an institution would be better after all. Batman watched as Daniel pressed himself up against the glass, hands trembling anxiously against the smooth surface and shallow breath fogging the window. Daniel was barely moving, barely breathing, the only thing that seemed to have any life was his eyes, which were darting back and forth desperately as if trying to catch the starlight.

"Heyyyy..."

The doctor's soft voice interrupted Batman's thoughts. She carefully placed her hands on Daniel's shoulders, and tried to pull him away from the window, but Daniel made a strange, desperate noise and pressed himself more firmly against the glass. She immediately stopped, backing away from him, hands hovering over his shoulders. With wide, frightened, hazel eyes she turned to Batman, silently begging for him to help. It took a moment for Batman to realize why.

Daniel could phase right through the glass.

Ice flooded Batman's veins, Daniel was obviously not all there and 'ghost' or not the vacuum of space could very well kill him. Batman inched closer to Daniel before putting a careful hand on his slender shoulder.

"It's time to go now."

Batman was gentle and managed to pull Daniel away from the window but as he was being separated from of the glass Daniel slowly turned to stare at Batman. His pale blue eyes only had an echo of life in them, they were still missing something. Suddenly there was a vibrant flicker of green that overtook those fragile blue eyes and Daniel slipped through Batman's fingers like a cold mist and dove into the window, hand outstretched. Everything was a blur of panicked movement. The doctor screamed. There was a soft snapping noise as the IV broke out Danny's arm and little droplets of green liquid rained down onto the floor. Batman didn't know how but he had managed to grab Daniel again. Somehow Batman's arms were firmly locked around Daniel's now solid chest. Batman could feel the teen's ribs scrape through his skin through his armor. As Batman backed away with Daniel still secure in his arms he glanced once again through the window. Both Batman and Daniel stared at the many glittering stars but to the Dark Knight they seemed more like will-o'-wisps now. Daniel wasn't safe here, Batman could swear he saw Daniel's hand slip through the glass and into the void. Carefully Batman placed Daniel back in his wheelchair where the teen sat without a fuss, staring at his fingers looking satisfied though very tired.

* * *

Batman nervously glanced at the shallowly breathing teen whose's head was propped up against the window of the Batplane, making sure Daniel had no plans to phase out into the sky. It had taken so much effort to pull Daniel away from the Watchtower's window only for him to immediately glue himself onto another one. Daniel was greedily taking in the sights, even if the only sight to be seen was the endless sea of white clouds below them. It had been a long, boring flight made even longer by the suffocating silence. Though Daniel seemed relaxed and comfortable he had not once said a word. The teen simply sat, curled into a little ball with his spindly arms roped around his legs, staring out the window or sleeping. The passenger side of the Batplane was now cramped with various types of monitoring equipment and several blankets that Daniel only ever used as makeshift pillows. Daniel had successfully made his side of the cockpit look like some sort of nest in the short moments he spent awake. Batman stared at the teen, studying him. It felt more like watching a zoo animal than looking at an actually human. Briefly Batman wondered if Daniel would ever be mentally capable of returning to heroism, or even living a normal life. With a sigh Batman turned back to the console, going over his brief conversation with Vlad doubting his choice to tell the older man about Daniel. Batman hadn't thought this decision through and the spontaneity of it all made him uneasy. He glanced back at Daniel, who was now asleep, still coiled in a tiny ball. There was nothing he could do now, they had already come so far and the flight here was already taxing enough on Daniel. The decision had been made. Batman turned back to the console once again and started making the descent into Amity Park.

The staff had not been expecting Batman much less the Batplane, and when he stepped down onto the helicopter pad with a sleeping Daniel in his arms he found himself surrounded by hospital security and staff. Despite their initial fear and confusion it didn't take much to get Daniel checked into one of the pristine rooms in the newly opened hospital. The teen was hooked up to a new set of machines and monitors. Then he was examined by a slew of doctors and nurses, though Batman suspected that they were more curious about himself than Daniel. Even after being jostled around and prodded Daniel remained asleep, the fear that he would relapse grew as the minutes passed. Batman was about to walk over to him and try to wake him when the door slammed open with Vlad panting in the doorway. All suspicions that Batman had about Vlad being indifferent to Daniel immediately dissolved.

If Vlad looked haggard before he was an absolute wreck now. His wrinkled pants were from a dress suit and he was wearing a fine but mismatched jacket, underneath the jacket was a stained pajama top and his feet were completely bare. His usually well-kept grey hair was down and messily covered half his face. He looked like he had started getting ready to go out but gave up halfway through. Vlad barely registered that Batman was there, his focus was entirely on Daniel. Vlad approached Daniel slowly and knelt down by the hospital bed, getting his face as close as he could without actually touching Daniel and studied him carefully.

"Mr. Masters, I would like to talk to you about Daniel..."

Vlad didn't respond and only continued his thorough examination with wild disbelief contorting his face. Not once did Vlad touch Daniel, as if he were afraid of him shattering if him if he so much as breathed on him. After a few minutes of through examination Vlad allowed himself to touch Daniel's hair lightly, trying and failing to smooth the short, black locks over the scars.

" _Alive..._ "

Vlad breathed the words, joy taking away all volume from his voice. He staggered backward and collapsed into a chair, eyes still locked on Daniel. Batman assumed incorrectly that Vlad was listening and continued,

"Daniel has been through a severe trauma, he will have to go through months...maybe years of recovery."

There was no reaction from Vlad aside from a confused look that had begun to fester slowly on his face. Batman took that as a sign to continue and perhaps explain things to him,

"The doctors here will be able to-"

"Why...why is he still 14? He shouldn't be 14."

Vlad's voice came out like a croak, riddled with confusion and suspicion. It took Batman aback, he hadn't even considered that the teenager in the obituary should be 4 years older now. Legally Daniel was 18, an adult. What had Cadmus done to him? Batman shook his head and Vlad scowled and went back to picking apart Daniel with his eyes. Just another mystery Batman was aching to solve.

"Regardless of his age Daniel will need specialized care, I've arranged for him to be admitted into a psychiatric facility in-"

"No."

Vlad interrupted Batman abruptly and rose from his chair glaring fiercely at the taller man before continuing,

" _I_ will be taking Daniel."

"He will need psychiatric and medical care something that you-"

"You think that I'm not capable of caring for Daniel? I'll hire doctors, I'll buy whatever he needs."

"I'm aware of your wealth but right now Daniel needs more than money."

"And you think a psychiatric facility will be able to provide him with that?"

"I know you certainly won't."

"What is that supposed to mean."

Batman couldn't hide his abhorrence towards Vlad and his actions any longer and his hatred twisted his face into a menacing scowl. Vlad laughed the same brutal and short laugh from the night of the banquet.

"Ah..you're just worried that I'll turn Daniel over to the 'dark side'. You aren't concerned about him, you're just making sure he won't end up like me."

"I know on thing for sure right now, Masters, and that is that Daniel doesn't need someone like you in his life."

"And what do you know about Daniel?!"

With those words Vlad was in Batman's face, glaring, teeth bared in anger. Suddenly there was a flash of red that flooded Vlad's tired blue eyes for just a second. Just a second. It could of been a trick of the light or...it was that same flicker of color that Batman had saw in Daniel's eyes seconds before he phased through his hands in his attempted escape to space. Vlad was like Daniel. Batman swallowed, now was the time that Daniel needed familiarity and someone who understood him and his powers. That didn't change the fact that Vlad would make for a terrible guardian. Without hesitation or much effort Batman picked Vlad up by his dress jacket and slammed him into the wall, making the room shiver with the force of the impact.

"Fine. But I will be watching -the League will be watching you. If you so much as toe the line I will make it my life's ambition to hunt you down and take your little empire apart piece by piece. If you hurt Daniel you will never see him again."

Vlad swallowed his retort, too desperate for Daniel to be apart of his life to ruin his chances with words. There was a soft, startled sound and both Batman and Vlad turned to Daniel. Vlad was shocked to find Daniel staring at them, his eyes wide with fright and confusion. He was trembling and looked ready to flee at any second. Batman dropped Vlad and the shorter man scrambled toward Daniel, careful not to touch him.

"It's alright. It's me...it's Vlad."

Daniel edged away from Vladmir in confusion, but Vlad only got closer and was suddenly unable to contain himself. He wrapped his arms around Daniel and forced him into a hug.

"You are safe now. I'll never let anyone hurt you..."

Daniel didn't return the hug and stared at Batman over Vlad's shoulder, confused and quietly pleading. Batman only shook his head sadly before he turned and left.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I know a lot of you were looking forward to Batman adopting Danny, I hope you'll still stick around for rest of the story :P


	6. Silence

**Author's Note:** This chapter gets a little darker, there is a little blood and violent hospital situations, you have been warned.  
*Pats self on back* I promised I'd have more frequent updates and I have actually delivered.

Did you like what you read? Have questions? Want to see some more art? Come visit my tumblr: todojustice

* * *

 **Silence**

The soft hiss of machinery and occasional beat of the heart monitor was deafening as Vlad slumped over in his chair in defeated silence. He had spent the last hour talking himself raw. Daniel had not made a sound since Batman left and Vlad had been filling the silence with a one-sided conversation. Topics ranged from celebrity gossip, the weather and, with some amount of bitterness, questions about Batman and the League.

Vlad avoided anything that Daniel had lost. He kept quiet about Maddie. Quiet about his sister. The silence persisted. Nothing Vlad had done or said elicited any reaction, the boy scarcely looked at him. The older man stared hopelessly at Daniel who had suddenly gained an intense interest in his unmoving feet beneath the thin hospital blankets. Vlad fought the urge to scream at or shake the boy, if only to see him cower.

With a defeated sigh Vlad leaned back in his chair and examined Daniel. It was the first time he really _saw_ him. The last time they met they had been fighting, as usual, and Daniel was non-stop insults and banter. Silence didn't suit Danny. The boy Vlad remembered had bright and wild eyes. Vlad swallowed something bitter as his eyes passed over Daniel's own hollow blue ones. His face was gaunt and starved. The rest of the teen's body was no better and Vlad could see bones sticking out from under the hospital gown and sheets.

With a new found delicacy, Vlad picked up Daniel's cold hand. As gentle as Vlad was he could feel the slight muscles tense at the touch. Vlad turned the wrist over, examining it. It was starved and scarred like the rest of him, there was no fat and barely any muscle. Vlad traced a finger over the terrible scars that wound around Daniel's wrist and suddenly it was snatched out of his grasp. Startled, Vlad jerked his hands away. Daniel cradled his wrist while edging away, staring at his elder warily. Vlad couldn't stand the sight of those empty, frightened eyes so he let his gaze drop. To the scar on the boy's throat. Vlad knew that scar, he had performed the very same procedure on lab mice and fetal pigs.

"Daniel..."

Vlad muttered gently as unfamiliar feelings of sympathy and pity softened his voice. Vlad began to reach towards the neck of Daniel's hospital gown. He needed to see the rest of that scar, to see if-

"Mr. Masters?"

Immediately Vlad lurched away, turning his attention toward the stranger in the doorway. It was a doctor with a kiss-ass grin smeared across his face, he was holding Daniel's chart. Somehow that forced grin grew even wider under Vlad's scrutiny.

"I'm Doctor Pierce, I would like to talk to you about-"

He glanced down to the chart.

"-Daniel."

Vlad narrowed his eyes warily before he motioned for the doctor to continue. After the doctor cleared his throat with maybe a little more gusto than what was necessary, he continued.

"Daniel has certainly been through a lot, but he's already recovered remarkably well, aside from scarring. We still have to run a few tests and scans but we should be able to finish all of the diagnostics by the end of the day. You, Mr. Masters, are of course a priority."

Vlad had lost patience with false friendliness and kindness a long time ago and his tone was seeped with that bitter sentiment,

"What sort of tests and scans?"

The doctors smile faltered before becoming even wider and gaining an almost toad-like appearance.

"Just the basics. We drew some blood to run a CBC, check his glucose levels and things like that. We also did a physical examination when he first arrived. Also..."

The doctor moved to the foot of Daniel's bed, abruptly pulling the hospital sheets away from his patients legs to both Daniel's and Vlad chagrin. Daniel's legs jerked a little, he seemed to be trying and failing to move them away from Dr. Pierce's prying hands. A worried frown creased Vlad's face, he hadn't considered a crippled Daniel. The doctor manipulated Daniel's legs, earning a whimper from his patient. Pierce played no attention to Daniel's discomfort and focused on Vlad instead.

"See how little muscle there is? Wherever -uh- Daniel was he wasn't able to move around very much."

Vlad's tongue rapidly became dry and heavy in his mouth and his words struggled to escape.

"He...Daniel can't walk?"

Another false grin from Dr. Pierce.

"Not right now, Mr. Masters, his legs have just atrophied. It's a pretty severe case but nothing that some physical therapy won't solve."

Vlad breathed a sigh of relief before deflating into his chair. Hiring the best physical therapists and purchasing the best equipment would be easy. It would only be a matter of months before Daniel was back on his feet again. Normal again. The doctor didn't seem to catch onto Vlad's shifting moods and continued speaking with his sickeningly false cheer.

" _Well_ , there are a few other things we suspect about his condition but we'll need to perform an X-Ray and an MRI to confirm. There will be a nurse in shortly to explain things to you and Daniel here."

Dr. Pierce patted Daniel's legs with mock familiarity as a sort of silent goodbye before strolling out of the room. The gesture made Daniel flinch and scramble to cover his bare legs with the blanket again. Vlad sighed and drooped over Daniel's bed, letting his arms rest on the plastic guard rail. Doctors, this one, in particular, were invasive and annoying. Vlad disliked hospitals ever since he spent so much of his life rotting in one with ecto-acne. He wasn't the one in the bed but it didn't stop him from dwelling on those unpleasant memories. Suddenly something tiny and cold slipped inside his lax hand and it took Vlad a moment to realize what it was. Daniel was holding his hand. Vlad dared to glance up at the boy. He was shaking. The small hand shivered in his own and Vlad didn't dare move in fear of breaking whatever fragile thing that had finally made Daniel trust him.

* * *

They sat in silence for an hour, Daniel weaned whatever comfort and warmth he could from Vlad's large hand the entire time. The older man didn't dare to move, he barely breathed and his tired muscles screamed at him. There was a soft knock at the open door and Daniel's hand slipped away. There was a woman in a modest dress and colorful makeup, it looked odd amongst the bustling uniformed nurses and sterile gray halls. Vlad was grateful for her interruption and rose to greet her, rubbing his shoulders. She offered them both a rosy pink smile before speaking,

"My name is Corvina, I'll be the nurse prepping Daniel here for his MRI."

She had a colorful plastic box with her, and she quietly pulled up a chair beside Daniel before she took a seat and snapped open the box. Corvina began to empty the contents of the box on a little beside-table. There were thin paper books, little puppets, dolls and other colorful little props that a child would be fascinated in. Corvina blushed a little before explaining herself,

"I'm sorry, everything I have is for a younger audience."

Vlad simply grinned, the old Daniel would be mortified at this development. She cleared her throat,

"Normally, Daniel would go through an X-Ray first but we tried using it this morning and we haven't gotten it to work. Just some new equipment bugs, I'm sure it'll all be sorted out soon."

Leaning closer to Daniel she opened the book titled _MR-I am ready!_ on his lap so he would be able to see it as well. There were pictures of the stark white room with the opening of the MRI machine looming in the back. The cartoonish figures of children and doctors dancing in the foreground seemed to only make the page more unsettling. Corvina read the text on the page with a storyteller's flair,

"This machine is called the MRI!

Timothy is very afraid of the big and scary MRI.

But there's nothing to be afraid of

and let me tell you why."

She turned the page to one with a magnet pulling paper clips on one side and a camera on the other and continued. Daniel's heart started to beat a little faster, but it went unnoticed by Corvina and Vlad.

"MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging

It's just a long way of saying it's a magnet

and a veeeerrrry big camera

that takes pictures of your inside"

Corvina turned the page again, a cartoon child, presumably 'Timothy' was now entering the mouth of the MRI. Daniel's heart monitor began to pick up the pace, earning a cautionary glance by both Vlad and the nurse.

"It doesn't hurt one bit!

But you have to be careful,

because an MRI will do what magnets do best

so we have to keep all metal away."

Daniel's heart was beating rapidly now, and Corvina took notice, she glanced at the heart monitor, then at Daniel, who was pale in the face, with his eyes locked onto the silly cartoon picture of Timothy. She hesitated before turning the page and continuing,

"T-the MRI will take pictures of your head

and pictu-"

Suddenly Daniel literally tore the flimsy paper book out of Corvina's hands, screaming wildly. He began to rip the book to shreds in a crazed frenzy. The shredded bits of a cartoon Timothy were flung into the air and Timmy's silly cartoon grin was flecked with blood, Daniel's blood. Daniel had cut himself of the stiff paper cover but that didn't stop him. Unsatisfied by his carnage of the book he began grabbing at Corvina desperately and Vlad leaped in to stop him, pinning him down to the bed by his wrists. Corvina bounded away and ran over to a locked metal cabinet. Whatever had possessed Daniel to attack Corvina still had the vulnerable teen in its grasp.

Daniel bucked under Vlad's hold, desperately trying to throw him off all while screaming as if he were being burned alive. Corvina returned in less than a minute and injected something into Daniels IV. Another minute of screaming and thrashing followed and Daniel began to wear down with his limbs becoming heavy and his screams coming in short bursts instead of one consecutive wail. Another minute. Daniel fell into silence and the thrashing was reduced to mere twitches.

"I have to let Dr. Pierce know."

All of the warmth and color had drained from Corvina's voice, leaving a calculated deadpan. She rushed from the room, leaving Vlad alone with Daniel. Even sedated the panic was still there, present in Daniel's heavy breathing and continuing twitches. Vlad hovered, unsure of what to do. His hands felt odd. His mind was numb from shock and he turned his hands over to examine them. They were smeared with Daniel's blood. Vladimir Masters didn't know what to do. Daniel had gone mad, it was something that couldn't be fixed with money or time. Vlad let he hands drop to his sides, before turning his attention back to Daniel. The twitching had subsided and now Daniel seemed to be focused on some distant object. Suddenly a white arc appeared around Daniel's chest, threatening to separate. Vlad grabbed Daniel with one hand,

"No. Not here. Not now."

Vlad masters was a very careful man. As he was going through his armory he had stopped to consider if _they_ had turned Daniel against him. He had four years to perfect the design of the plasmius maximus, it was now the size of a tuning fork and fit into his coat pocket with ease. Vlad fished it out from among the other weapons concealed in his jacket and switched it on before driving it into Daniel's chest. It did what it was made for and it short-circuited Daniel's powers fizzing out the white rings in an array of green electricity. Daniel jerked unnaturally, eyes rolling back in his head before collapsing back onto the bed. There was a horrifying silence before Daniel started wailing again, it was low and pained this time, it lacked all of the volume from before. It was the sound of a wounded animal. Daniel started hiccuping and heaving as well, the frenzied breathing racked his tiny frame and his ribs rippled through the thin hospital gown with each inhale. Daniel was crying. Vlad stepped back, horrified at what he had done.

* * *

Dr. Pierce decided to go through with the MRI, taking the precaution of strapping Daniel down with padded cuffs, rendering him completely immobile. Vlad was numb and he watched as they bound Daniel to the white plastic "tongue" of the MRI machine. They even strapped in his flailing head into a foam case that would keep him still for the scan. Daniel never stopped wailing. He struggled as much as he could against the nurses and aids but the sedation, Vlad's device and possible years of abuse left Daniel helpless against them.

After they finished tying down Daniel Dr. Pierce led Vlad to another room where he would be able to monitor the scan with them. It was quiet, almost peaceful both Vlad and Dr. Pierce was silent. Vlad jumped when Pierce turned on the monitors and the sounds of Daniel's pathetic and desperate wailing assaulted them. Dr. Pierce fiddled with a few buttons and Daniel was slowly inserted into the machine. Daniel's desperate and fear-filled face slid into view of one of the monitors. The doctor turned the machine on.

Silence.

It was sudden and unnerving. So much so that Dr. Pierce began double checking the monitors. Vlad was looking at Daniel. He'd become still, unnaturally so his eyes looked distant and...gone. Something was wrong.

"Turn it off."

Dr. Pierce looked at him incredulously.

"What? I can't, we jus-"

"Turn the damn thing off!"

It took a minute of fumbling to turn the MRI off. Vlad ripped open the door and ran towards Danny and pulled him out of the machine manually. He began fumbling with the straps, trying to get Daniel free. The machine was off but Daniel still wasn't moving.

"Daniel?"

Vlad worriedly brushed his fingers through Daniel's hair, they came back wet and red with blood. Dizzy, Vlad turned Daniel's head to the right, blood was flowing in a steady stream from his left ear, dribbling onto Vlad's hand as he held him. The same hand Daniel had clung to scarcely an hour before. Suddenly the intercom crackled to life and Dr. Pierce's voice echo clearly throughout the room,

"Code 13 in the MRI suite. Code 13."

Then the doctors came and took Daniel away.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I would really like to thank my beta CharismaBell for their edits and insightful commentary! I'd also like to thank my other beta DarkKeybladePhantomofTime for their time and consideration.

Special thanks to Good Witch of Babble for their constant and thoughtful reviews, I look forward to them every time I upload a chapter.

I read every single review that comes across my story more than once and it's what keeps me going, thank you so much everyone for taking the time to write even just a few words, you have no idea how much it does for me.


	7. White

**Author's Note:** Well. This wasn't enjoyable. It's nice to know a handful of fans can't suffer some of my happiness for one day.

Thank you, nerdyRabbit, for your particularly scathing review of my holiday prank. It was a lovely thing to see first thing in the morning.

I just wanted to have a little fun, and maybe you should read the authors notes before reviewing, like I asked, you ungrateful little squib.

"ಡ ωಡ

Happy all fool's day. I'll edit in the actual chapter by tomorrow. I think there's something with the reviews that don't allow you to post more than once per chapter (?) so if you want to you can hold off for the actual chapter. If you would like the chapter today you can probably go on transl8it dot com and just run it through the other way.

Another big thank you to my lovely beta CharismaBell!"

So

A) The whole thing was able to be translated yesterday.  
B) You would of gotten the chapter today anyway  
C) The 2nd is still nearly 2 weeks before I normally update  
D) Because I wanted to celebrate my _birthday_ I was going to update on the 13 too

I was planning on doing two updates a month at least until June but I don't even know now.  
 **I'll probably going to take a short hiatus, things aren't really working well in real life either and I don't need the added stress. I extend an apology to all of my lovely fans.**

Sorry for the rant. Not all of you did this, and I'm super grateful for the good sports! Special thanks to Mystic Myra 8, I hope you like this chapter! :D  
Also I would like to add I'm super accepting to criticism of the _story_ , if you have something constructive to say please feel free.

This chapter is another dark one with icky hospital situations. I know some of you are put off by that but I swear I lighten up in the next one, I hope you stick around!

Did you like what you read? Have questions? Want to see some more art? Come visit my tumblr: todojustice

* * *

 **White**

The halls of the Fenton Memorial were painted with little flowers and animals, designed to bring joy to children as they passed through in their recovery. There were no such designs near the surgical wing. The walls were stark white and bare of all comfort. Vlad sat in numb shock staring at the blank wall outside of Daniel's operating theater. His hands still stiff with dried blood. Daniel's heart had stopped beating. Code 13 - child in distress. It didn't matter how hard Vlad tried, he couldn't ignore the images of Dr. Pierce's barely contained panic as he ran into the room and began to perform CPR on Daniel's still, unmoving body. When help arrived, Vlad was escorted out of the room despite his demands to know what was wrong.

Vlad lowered his head down onto his hands and ran his bloodstained fingers through his hair. He tried to take a deep breath but his lungs stuttered with panic. Daniel's heart stopped. He _died_. Vlad didn't know what it would mean for Daniel if they couldn't revive him next time. He could lose his corporeal body, become a full ghost or everything that was Daniel could simply cease to be. Vlad took another deep, shuddering breath and sank further into his hands. Either way Vlad would be left alone again, the sole halfa in existence. The hall seemed to grow larger, drowning Vlad in the cold and silent emptiness. He wrapped his arms around himself but it did nothing to comfort him.

Vlad stared at the doors leading to the surgical theater. Daniel was just a few concrete walls away. It wouldn't take much to go in. He would be able to see Daniel and find out what happened to him. Before he knew what he was doing a duplicate took Vlad's place on the hard plastic chair. He transitioned seamlessly into invisibility and stepped in front of the concrete wall separating him and Daniel. He took a deep breath, gathering courage before he slipped through into the dark.

Light blinded him when he emerged from the other side. There were four great saucer-like lamps mounted over what he could only assume was the operating table. All of the blue-clad doctors and nurses crowded around the center of the room made it difficult to make out anything. They were all busy. He could hear their metal tools clicking gently and their hushed murmuring as they worked.

Vlad moved closer, hovering just above the lamps. Daniel was lying on his side, limbs splayed out awkwardly. He had a thick tube firmly secured in his mouth and another, smaller one in his nose, both were held in place with an absurd amount of white tape that covered most of his face. A metal cage secured Daniel's head so the bustle surrounding the doctors and nurses could operate on it. Vlad moved closer. He didn't notice but he was hovering inside Daniel, letting the doctor's and nurse's arms pass through his intangible form as they worked. Even this close Vlad still couldn't see much, the surgeon's arms obscured everything from view

Vlad tried to get a better look at Daniel's face through the tape and tubes. It was so tranquil, so serene, so... dead. The witty, sarcastic fourteen-year-old he had argued and fought with was long gone. He reached down to touch Daniel's face, half expecting Daniel's eyes to open, for him to grin that infuriating smirk and spout some kind of unholy pun. As his fingers brushed against a pale eyelid, Vlad felt a twitch and a flash of warmth, then it vanished. Vlad froze. The heart monitor was beeping a slow but steady beat, telling him that Daniel was alive but it wasn't enough. He moved his hand to Daniel's chest and hesitated before slowly letting his intangible fingers sink through the layers of skin and bone. The weak rhythm of Daniel's fragile beating heart and a comforting flow of warmth surrounded Vlad's hand. But a beat from the heart monitor fell out of time and Vlad drew back in fear. He hovered, drifting away slowly. He watched Daniel's chest rise and fall, drawing comfort from the constant beat and knowing Daniel was alive.

"There- carefully now..."

Vlad glanced up at the surgeon when he spoke. There was a sickening sticky noise as something white and slick with blood was removed from Daniel's head. Startled, Vlad abruptly lurched back, away from Daniel and the crowd of doctors around him. Breathing heavily to fill non-existent lungs he began to flee from the room but something glinted back the harsh surgical light, catching Vlad's eye. Warily he slowly turned to examine the flat, white bone now resting on a tray just outside of the bustle of doctors and nurses. Something metal and blunt protruded from the freshly removed section of Daniel's skull.

* * *

Rage. It was a familiar emotion to Vlad, he had grown accustomed to its presence in the years following his half-ghost transformation. Rage towards Jack. Rage towards the world and his innumerable misfortunes. Even rage towards Danny when they butted heads. Now it wracked his body with barely suppressed shudders and he was unable to contain hatred festering within. Vlad's narrowed eyes were locked onto a small metal cylinder, barely the width of a pencil and only a fraction of one in length. It was immersed in a saline solution within a plastic cup labeled clearly with Daniel's name and date of birth. At Vlad's request, Dr. Pierce had brought it out and set it on an overbed table, without questioning how Vlad knew it existed.

Daniel was quiet and still. The doctors had anesthetized him into oblivion after the surgery and Vlad was happy for it. The less he knew about this ordeal the better. The boy barely looked human with his head bound in bright white bandages and the tubes and tape still obscuring most of his face. The sight of Daniel so weak made Vlad's rage crackle with self-hatred. He did this. If he had only trusted Daniel they wouldn't be here. But that small amount of hatred barely held a candle to the roaring inferno of malice he held for those that tortured Daniel to begin with and the hospital that made it worse.

The rage had taken Vlad over so completely he barely heard Dr. Pierce's nervous murmurs as he made excuses for the Hospital and his own decisions. The bits of information that broke through the red haze only fueled Vlad's fiery anger more.

Lucky, Dr. Pierce called it, lucky that that bit of metal was embedded in Daniel's skull instead of loose inside his brain. The metal could have been torn out, taking whatever was in the way with it. Instead, it was secure enough to just cause a bleed. Lucky. Vlad knew better. Someone had deliberately and with great care implanted that bit of metal into Daniel. They had inserted it directly into the part of the brain Pierce called the "Broca's area". It was the part of the brain that controlled _speech_. Vlad had been so happy Daniel was alive he had forgotten that someone tortured, scarred and locked him up in something so small he couldn't stand or move his now atrophied legs. Danny wouldn't have stayed quiet, he would have heckled and insulted his captors. He wouldn't have silently endured his torment, he would have fought back using his sharp tongue and wit like a weapon. His last defense would be his voice.

And they took that from him.

Vlad clenched his violently shaking hands, digging his nails into his own skin,drawing blood. They could have used a gag or a million other simpler methods to silence him. They not only decided to drive ghost proof metal into his skull so he couldn't heal, they wanted him to scream. They only wanted to hear his voice when it was raised in agony. Something dark and twisted made bile rise in Vlad's throat. _They were still out there._

Vlad stood abruptly, letting the chair he was sitting fall noisily onto the floor making Dr. Pierce jump. Mechanically Vlad turned toward the door and started to leave. Suddenly Dr. Pierce was in front of him, a weak and nervous smile made his lips twitch as he got in between Vlad and his destination. The doctor's voice was fraught with feebleness,

"Mr. Masters? We still have things to discuss Daniel's condition."

Right. The doctor had been talking. Vlad had hardly noticed. He coldly pushed Pierce out of the way with enough force to make the man stumble to catch his balance.

"I'm going home...with Daniel."

The doctor got in the way again, stepping in front of Vlad, this time with more determination. Worry and a touch of anger played across his face and with his voice.

"Right now? Mr. Masters, Daniel just got out of surgery-major surgery- moving him right now is beyond dangerous! I understand we made a mistake with the MRI but-"

Vlad shoved him aside again but Pierce persisted. He grabbed Vlad's shoulder and whirled him around, forcing Vlad to look at him,

"No! I can't let this happen. You'll hurt Daniel... maybe even kill him if you move him now."

The doctor was glaring at Vlad now. His hands were balled up into fists. Gone were his fake smiles and false kindnesses. This was the first genuine emotion that Pierce had shown Vlad. In this moment he wasn't worried about his job or pleasing his hospital's largest benefactor. He genuinely cared about Daniel's safety. Too bad he was getting in the way. Vlad brutally grabbed Dr. Pierce and pinned him to the wall by his neck. In the black of the doctor's now fear-blown pupils, he saw the reflection of his own eyes, glowing red. Such a pity. He would probably lose his job after Vlad was done with him.

* * *

Dr. Pierce had been right. Despite Vlad's best efforts the flight to Wisconsin was a tumultuous one. The doctors Vlad hired never saw a moment's rest in the long flight, each second was spent trying to keep Daniel's heart beating.

When they arrived they immediately rushed him into a sterile room Vlad had the sense enough to call ahead for. As the hired medical staff worked to stabilize Daniel, Vlad collapsed into a plush chair in a corner. He was exhausted and fought to stay awake. With heavy eyes, he glanced at his watch to find that the night had just slipped into the next day. Not only had the long and arduous flight worn him down, overshadowing people always took its toll. After "Dr. Pierce" filled out Daniel's release forms he set to work destroying any evidence that Daniel was there. Vlad couldn't have anyone getting their hands on Daniel's blood or scans. He left Dr. Pierce in a pile of shredded documents and broken vials with no remorse.

Vlad inspected the room wearily. It was one of his many guest rooms. He was pleased to find the green and gold wallpaper clean and without a speck of dust and that the plush carpet still bore the signs of a very thorough vacuuming. The room was on the first floor, nestled within the heart of his estate. There were no windows and it would be easy to guard if the time came. Everything Daniel needed was only a few steps away. The room had its own bathroom and the kitchens were just a few paces down the hallway. More importantly, it was directly below his own bedroom, if Daniel needed anything Vlad could be there in seconds.

Vlad wouldn't be going back to his room though, not tonight. He watched as Daniel was arranged like a doll in between the soft white sheets of his new bed. Hours trickled past and Vlad stayed awake until Daniel's vitals finally stabilized. The staff whittled away until he was alone with Daniel. He would have to fire these doctors soon. It wouldn't be long until Daniel's accelerated healing would mend injuries that should take months to recover from. He would have to hire ghosts in their stead. It wouldn't be too much of a challenge for Skulker to find appropriate replacements. For now, Vlad was content to sit in the corner, watching over his new ward as he slept. Pale morning sunlight slowly started to creep into the room. Everything would be fine. Vlad's eyelids grew heavier and heavier until he closed his eyes.

Everything would be fine when Danny woke up.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Another big thank you to my lovely beta CharismaBell! She helped me out of a rough patch on this one.


	8. Waking Up

**Author's Note:** Ye, I know it's not the 13th and that I said I was going to take a hiatus but I'm going to try and hold off until July because I got plans and ain't nobody gonna stop this creative train wreck. Toot toot, haters.

I also wanted readers on Fanfiction to know I will be participating in Phanniemay on Tumblr and trying to do every day. I might be doing some writing but most of it will be art. So if you like the story and want to see some of story related art check out my Tumblr: ToDoJustice I will also try to update on the 13th because May 13th is a Friday and I think that's neat.

*Mumbles something incoherent and crawls back into bed.*

* * *

 **Waking Up**

The familiar sounds came first, the beeping heart monitor, metal scraping against metal, footsteps fading in and out. Then the unfamiliar ebbed into existence. The murmur of voices too soft and too gentle to understand, the rustle of pillowy bed-sheets and something soothing in the distance he couldn't quite make out. It was a broken and scattered sound but it was bright and comforting. It took him a while to identify the soft and flighty notes as muffled birdsong. He wasn't there anymore. He was safe. Comforted by that knowledge he slowly opened his eyes and marveled as blurry colors and shapes came into focus.

The world was different again, awash with rich green and brilliant gold. Different was good. The room swam in and out of focus but it was slowly becoming clearer. As the numbness faded, pain wormed it's way back into his consciousness like a sharp thorn. It started out as a dull ache he could push aside in the distraction of rediscovering his senses but it grew. Pain burrowed into his skull and radiated throughout his head until it was all he could think about. When he couldn't bear it anymore, he tried to cry out but his throat seized around a hard plastic tube. Choking, he fought against its intrusion, thrashing, biting down and clawing at his own face in a panicked attempt to get it out.

"Daniel!"

Suddenly there were hands touching him, holding him down. He tried to fight back but his muscles refused to act as he wanted. Danny was helpless as they pinned him down and peeled the white tape off his face. Someone was talking to him, asking him to do something, but his frightened and pain riddled mind couldn't focus on anything but the angry ache in his skull. Then the invasive plastic tube in his throat jerked and started to slide out with him coughing and retching as it went. In the tube's absence, he struggled to catch a breath, heaving and gasping weakly as the dry air hit his raw throat and filled his exhausted lungs. He closed his eyes as he learned how to breathe again.

"Are you alright?"

He rolled his head towards the voice, still breathing in shallow, uneven gasps. He pressed his eyes together trying to forget the pain clawing its way back inside his head. A warm hand brushed against his face gently and rested there against his cold skin until he opened his eyes. The first thing that Danny managed to focus on was a pair of tired blue eyes examining him thoroughly.

Uncomfortable with the scrutiny Danny looked away from the man and his eyes landed on a glass pitcher of water. Just the sight of the glittering liquid awoke a very powerful need that overrode the pain. His throat was suddenly too dry to swallow and his new breathing habit only made it worse. There was nothing more Danny of would liked than to snatch the jug off the table and down the whole thing. He moved to do just that but only succeeded in weakly tossing his arms in the pitcher's general direction.

"Daniel?"

He tried to say 'water' but the words failed to make it to his mouth and all that came out was a garbled whine that may have started with a vague 'wah' sound. The man immediately barked an order at someone Danny couldn't see.

"Sedate him."

Danny didn't want to go back to sleep. He hadn't felt this alive he in such a long time. He wanted to hear more birdsong, drink water, and submerge himself in the sea of color around him. He wanted to live. His dry tongue felt heavy in his mouth as he tried to voice his dissent. The words came out in a mangled moan that prompted the older man to place his hand back on Danny's cheek in either an attempt to comfort or silence him. Slowly Danny felt sleep creeping up on him like a creature stalking him from the shadows. He tried to stay awake and struggled against it but his arms already felt too heavy to move. The hand began stroking his cheek, petting him as the world faded into darkness.

"Shhh-"

* * *

Daniel's recovery was slow. In part because he spent most of his time either sedated or in a painkiller induced haze. The time he spent awake was typically short-lived and the moment Danny seemed even the least bit distressed Vlad would swoop in, demanding more painkillers or sedatives. Consciousness was something precious Daniel was denied too often.

Danny was enjoying one of his rare moments awake, though the morphine made his thoughts buzz. His glassy blue eyes were glued onto a very large TV Vlad recently purchased. It wasn't the only thing he bought. Every flat surface had some sort of stuffed animal, toy, game, book or other trinket that Vlad thought Danny would enjoy. The bed itself had a few comically large stuffed badgers on it, a private joke that Danny's foggy mind didn't seem to catch on to. He never really played with the toys but he would occasionally fiddle with them absently and seemed to enjoy running his hands through their soft fur.

It was apparent that most of Vlad's time apart from Daniel was spent buying things for Daniel. The closet and drawers were starting to fill with fine clothes, tailored to fit Vlad's new ward perfectly. Almost all of these new clothes buttoned up or had Velcro clasps so that he could be dressed with relative ease. Danny fidgeted with the hem of one of his new powder blue nightshirts absently as he watched his show. It was a cartoon featuring a superhero group, similar to the Justice League. Vlad suspected the Danny was more interested in the heroine with short red hair than any of the action or storytelling. She was some sort of martial artist and painfully reminded Vlad of Maddie. It seemed to make Daniel happy though, so Vlad let it be.

Vlad unraveled the white bandages around Daniel's head carefully, letting them pool on the bedsheets in white mountains as they fell. The show kept Daniel distracted and still as Vlad worked. As the last of the bandages fell away Vlad carefully examined Daniel's head. The large, curved surgical incision was healing nicely and Vlad doubted that this particular scar would be a permanent one. It had been a few days and already the neatly woven stitches didn't seem to be closing a wound at all and looked more like some twisted accessory accentuating the scar. The doctors Vlad hired to transport Danny to Wisconsin had been let go yesterday when one of them insisted on changing Daniel's bandages themselves and checking the incision. Vlad had been hoping for a few more days with human doctors but he would make do with whatever Skulker dragged from the depths of the ghost zone.

Vlad observed Daniel silently. The teen still seemed to lack full control of his limbs though Vlad couldn't be sure it was because of the near constant sedatives coursing through his blood or the trauma. Despite that, it was Daniel's inability to talk that worried Vlad the most. The doctors called it aphasia, Daniel seemed to have lost his ability to speak, write, read and even do math. He could understand but he couldn't communicate. If the sort of brain injury Daniel received had been inflicted on a human they would be impaired for the rest of their lives. Therapy would be a constant battle to reclaim what they lost. Vlad didn't know how a half-ghost would heal from a brain injury, especially one from something that had been forcibly embedded in him for so long. If Daniel's healing factor failed all Vlad could hope for was that therapy would help him as it would a human. The physical and speech therapists would, unfortunately, have to be human, something Vlad was not looking forward to dealing with.

As soon as Vlad finished taping down the bandages a wisp of blue vapor escaped Daniels mouth. Daniel tensed immediately, spinning to face the metal figure that now loomed just outside. There was a faint green light Danny's eyes. The figure advanced threateningly into the room, it's own narrowed eyes glowed ominously. Skulker stepped into the light with a smirk on his face and a glib comment on the tip of his tongue. He froze when he caught sight of Daniel. Skulker's smile slipped off his face and his mouth closed into a grim line. Vlad glared at him venomously as he tried to calm down Daniel who had his hands rolled up into weak fists, ready to attack. Skulker began awkwardly fumbling his words,

"I -uh- found the ghosts you asked for."

Skulker gestured stiffly at the hall before backing out of the room through a wall, seemingly embarrassed or at the very least uncomfortable. In his absence, the new and ghostly medical staff filed in one by one. Skulker had managed to round up a few willing ghosts, which proved to be more of a feat than originally imagined as most of the denizens of the ghost zone were more interested in picking apart a half-ghost like Danny rather than putting him back together.

Skulkers most valuable find, in Vlad's opinion, was recently deceased young nurse named Nina. She was a timid, small thing and Vlad suspected she only agreed to the job because she had unfinished business outside the ghost zone. Regardless it was good to have someone with modern medical expertise, especially since the only doctor Skulker could find was an old German one who probably died in the 1940s.

The old doctor barely spoke English and from what little Vlad could understand his name was 'Arzt'. He was amiable at least, short and a little round though it hardly showed under his suit and white coat. He had small, circular spectacles that didn't seem to want to stay on his nose and they floated about hovering just in front of his face. Dr. Arzt's bushy yet neatly trimmed mustache wriggled when he talked and it made Danny smile.

There was another ghost that agreed to help and one that seemed to know or at least was familiar with Dr. Arzt. This ghost was of an odd sort and almost looked like they might have been a possessed bedsheet if not for their long hands and wide, yellow eyes. Dr. Arzt had introduced him as 'Blau'. This strange ghost apparently didn't communicate in any way and let Dr. Arzt talk for him. As offbeat as the group was, Skulker had done a fair job finding caretakers for Daniel. They all seemed friendly and were kind and considerate of Daniel in his vulnerable state.

Skulker lurked outside the door, he peered in and sized up the whelp. His once elusive prey was scrawny, weak and unfocused. The sight of him so puny and frail made Skulker cringe. He at least would have ended his prey's half-life respectfully instead of caging, starving and torturing him. Skulker watched as Dr. Arzt placed an ancient looking stethoscope on Danny's chest while intentionally making his mustache wriggle again. Skulker lingered for a moment, waiting to see if Danny smiled before he turned and walked away. He headed back to his lair in the Ghost Zone. Danny wasn't fit to hunt anymore.

Hours passed by and Vlad was pleased that Daniel took everything in stride, he hadn't made a sound the entire day. It was getting late and Vlad prepared Daniel for bed. The nighttime routine was something Vlad insisted on himself. Vlad helped Daniel change clothes and brush his teeth. When they were done Vlad started preparing a dose of sedatives to help him sleep. There were dozens of pre-measured syringes that he had demanded before the human staff left. All Vlad had to do was inject one into the IV. As he went to administer the drug Vlad glanced at Daniel. He was staring at the syringe, clearly upset and disappointed as if he had done something wrong. Vlad hesitated, syringe in one hand and plastic IV tube in the other,

"You...don't want this?"

Big blue eyes stared up at him, pleading quietly as he shook his head. Daniel didn't make a sound. Something dropped into the pit of Vlad's stomach and bitter guilt welled up in his throat. Had Daniel been so desperate to stay awake he forced himself to stay quiet? If he had been uncomfortable or in pain Vlad wouldn't have known. He stared at the syringe in his hand before setting it down. He finished tucking Daniel in silently, drawing up the thick white comforter to his chin before walking out of the room. Before Vlad left he hesitated on the light switch, glancing back to see Daniel's head poking out of the sheets, watching him. Vlad opened his mouth, maybe to apologize or wish him a good night but the words died on his lips and he turned off the lights, leaving Daniel in darkness.

The darkness swallowed everything leaving only a vague outline of ominous figures looming in the shadows. Danny's eyes darted around the room. The silhouettes of his toys looked like ominous creatures in the dark and the soft light from the hallway glinted harshly off their lifeless plastic eyes as they watched Danny silently. Unnerved, he threw the blanket over his head. The warm fabric helped, it reminded him that he wasn't there anymore. He closed his eyes and breathed in the soft scent of detergent. Danny's breaths came in a gentle rhythm and he kept drinking in the soothing smell of delicate flowers.

He inhaled again and suddenly the scent of his own coppery blood mingled with the sour smell of putrid ectoplasm flooded his senses. His eyes shot open, he wasn't in the his room anymore. The rough grey walls of the lab spun around him as he tried to look for a way out. His mouth filled with the rotten taste of his blood and ectoplasm, he tried to spit it out but his mouth refused to open. A drill with a thick, heavy bit passing over his head and he froze, breath seized his throat. He knew what would happen next. It turned on. The horrid sharp whine of the machine got closer to his ear. He couldn't move. The whine got closer. Beyond the whine of the drill he could hear someone talking casually. They laughed like they were around a watercooler. There was a crunch as the drill hit bone.

Vlad had barely closed his eyes before he was awoken by painful, horrified screaming. Immediately he dropped down through his bed and into Daniel's dark room below. The bed was empty, Daniel's IV and feeding tube bled out into the white sheets, abandoned by their patient. Panic flooded Vlad's mind but before his worst nightmares got a chance to reenact he spotted a pair of green eyes glowing faintly in the corner of the room. They weren't looking at him, they weren't looking at anything. As Vlad's eyes adjusted to the dark, Daniel's quivering silhouette emerged from the shadowy corner he had chosen to curl into. His hair was white and his nightclothes had been replaced by his black and white hazmat suit. There was no one else in the room. Vlad's heart sank. Without the sedatives, Daniel's dreams were replaying the horrors he had endured. They must have felt so real that fear forced him to revert to his ghost form in defense.

"Daniel?"

Vlad's voice was still cloudy with sleep and the teen flinched when he heard it. Carefully Vlad edged closer to Daniel, hand outstretched. Step by step, inch by inch he closed the space between them until Vlad was able to brush Daniel's shoulder. Daniel didn't move so Vlad took it as an invitation to wrap his arms around the lean and trembling body of his ward and pull him close. Vlad mechanically patted the boy's ethereal white hair at a loss of what else to do. They stayed there, curled up in the corner until the birds started to sing again.

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 **Author's Note:** Well thats all for now folks!

Special thanks to two-stomach on Tumblr who let me use their OC Bloo!

Suuuper special thanks to my beta CharismaBell.

 **Also a big thank you to all of the support I received after my April Fools day temper tantrum. You guys are the reason this chapter is out. You are awesome.**


	9. Sleep

**Author's Note:** Phanniemay is still going on and I'm trying to do everyday! I might be doing some writing but most of it will be art. So if you like the story and want to see some of story related art check out my Tumblr: **ToDoJustice**

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 **Sleep**

Vlad stared at the empty syringe in his hands with tired eyes, swaying where he stood. He hadn't gotten any sleep the last week. Daniel's nightmares had only gotten worse. They were so real and tangible to Daniel and he had become unpredictable and violent when he tried to defend himself against them. Vlad bore most of the injuries, though it was nothing serious no one was safe from these nightly fits. Daniel even fired ectoblasts at Nina, frightening the poor girl into disappearing for a few days. The night before that Vlad had sluggishly floated down into the room to discover Daniel wildly tearing the eyes out of all of his toys and stuffed animals. Only a few survived the carnage, after that Vlad made sure to turn them to face the wall before he put Daniel down to bed. It didn't help with the nightmares, it just spared the toys.

Nothing in Vlad's life had prepared him for the screaming or the crying. There was nothing got to him quite like the feeling of being powerless. Vlad tried everything to help Daniel sleep, to assure him that he was safe but nothing worked. Sedating Daniel was a temporary fix that Vlad had been forced to resort to it if only to get a few hours of sleep for himself. During the night he had passed out on Daniel's bed with the exposed needle still in hand. With a grimace Vlad shoved the needle into a bio-hazard box and stumbled out of the bathroom. He was't equipped for this. A small, mocking voice in Vlad's mind told him to give Daniel up. That they would both be better off if he had let Batman take him.

Vlad walked across the room to a tired, half-sedated Daniel. There was a one eyed stuffed badger in his hands. Daniel traced his fingers over the tear where it's eye had been. Vlad shuffled over and took the toy from Daniel before running his hand through his ward's hair affectionately, trying to cover the now stitch free scar. He killed that insistent voice in his head. His Little Badger belonged here, with him.

During the day Daniel was fine, tired but calm and peaceful. It was a good thing too because it seemed Skulker couldn't keep his mouth shut. Vlad's reputation and power crumbled before countless curious ghosts. They snuck in through Vlad's portal or otherwise picked their way through his defenses to see Daniel. Most of them were respectful, gentle or contrite when they saw the state he was in. They often brought little gifts or stayed to have a one-way conversation. Others took to mocking Daniel, trying to goad him into a fight. Vlad didn't stand for any of it, any strange ghost he saw was violently thrown back into the Ghost Zone. Often times burning whatever otherworldly trinket the friendly ghosts brought in a fist of angry ectoenergy. He knew the some of the ghosts were taking advantage of how distracted and exhausted he had been. They slipped through his portal and went on to terrorize the small city Vlad lived on the outskirts of. He couldn't care less about the chaos they caused, he had more important concerns.

Most of the visitors didn't return for a second visit for one reason or another, but a few became a constant thorn in Vlad's side. Wulf and Cujo's loyalty was expected and they were the hardest to expel. Wulf came and went using his portals, typically making sure to stay out of sight. Vlad didn't know how Cujo kept getting in, but day after day the puppy would show up and try to tempt Daniel into a game a fetch or simply sit on his lap to have his belly rubbed. Unexpectedly though Youngblood was counted among the recurring guests. The little ghost boy would pop up on occasion and start games of make-believe with a willing and bored Danny, luring him into a world of fantasy and adventure. Eventually and uneasily Vlad gave in, tolerating the intruders in his home. He had too little sleep and was far to exhausted to keep up with them all.

After Daniel phased through the feeding tube and IV during his nightmare, Dr. Arzt decided it was best to leave them out and encouraged Daniel to get out of bed, fly, and eat a little on his own. Arzt had insisted that Daniel eat very little to start with and largely limited his patient to milk and crackers. He was extraordinarily unyielding on the matter and when questioned he muttered unfavorable things about Americans and their rations. Despite this Vlad caught Blau stirring a little honey to the milk or slipping Daniel a half a cookie. Just little things, but it made Daniel's face light up in a way Vlad couldn't. Blau seemed to have a way with Daniel, he was always calmer and happier in the odd ghost's presence. Vlad couldn't help but feel a little jealous. He ached to have a go at his fully stocked kitchen if only to show the bedsheet ghost up. When Artz finally gave his approval to give Daniel a proper meal Vlad jumped at the opportunity.

He decided on an old Russian soup recipe. It had potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, and cream, nothing especially jarring for a weak stomach. If he chopped up the ingredients finely they could be swallowed without issue. It was perfect. After few hours in the kitchen a piping hot bowl of soup was presented to a drooling Daniel. It was obvious he hadn't had anything like this in a very long time.

Though his motor functions had improved the past few days Daniel still fumbled with the spoon. As he chased the utensil around his little overbed table he looked desperately at the soup. He of might dove into it mouth first if Vlad didn't snatch up the spoon and scoop up a generous portion for Daniel. The hungry teen snapped it up immediately but as soon as the soup touched his tongue regret and maybe a little betrayal flashed in Daniel's eyes. He spat it out. The rejection almost offended Vlad until his saw Daniel panting with a bright red tongue.

"Hot? It's too hot!"

Daniel looked up at him, red tongue still sticking out and he nodded. Vlad was thrilled. This was something he could fix. He started stirring and steam came off the creamy soup in little pepper and spice scented puffs. Vlad gently blew on each spoonful, cooling it down even more before offering it to Daniel. Each bite was devoured ravenously until the bowl was scraped clean. Daniel looked satisfied and happy. Vlad beamed, he had finally done something right.

That glowing and warm feeling stayed with Vlad right up until Daniel vomited. As Dr. Artz comforted his shivering and miserable patient, he lectured Vlad in his thick accent gesturing to the empty soup bowl angrily as he spoke,

"Small, I said! Little, tiny bit. Not all this."

Vlad was despondent as he listened the old ghost rant. The little voice in his head that mocked him for his faults had resurrected itself and was screaming now. He stared at Daniel who was still shivering and looked like he might vomit again. Dr. Artz's anger summoned both Nina and Blau. Artz angrily began explaining the situation to Blau in German while Nina started cleaning the mess up. The sick had gotten everywhere and she had her work cut out for her. Nina had just started to pick Daniel's soiled clothes off but Vlad pushed her aside,

"I'll do it."

He was determined to prove to himself that he could be an adequate caretaker. After Daniel's clothes were removed Vlad carried him to the bath. Since the hospital Daniel had only ever gotten dry baths with wipes and no-rinse shampoo and he was long overdue for a proper one.

Vlad kicked on the faucet, hands still full of lanky teenager and waited for the tub to fill with hot water before gently dipping Daniel into the tub. At least he tried to be gentle. As soon as he touched the water Daniel started screaming and fighting. Exhausted and frustrated Vlad tried to force his ward into the tub. Daniel's flailing splashed water everywhere, filling half of the rather large bathroom with water and soaking Vlad to the bone. Somehow Vlad ended up in the bathtub with Daniel sprawled out on a soaking wet bathroom rug, shivering and glaring venomously.

The thread of self control Vlad had been clinging to finally snapped and he screamed. It was a long, wordless and frustrated roar. Daniel lost what fight he had and skittered across the bathroom to back up against the cabinets. This invoked some primal need to hunt in Vlad and he pursued. He leapt from the bathtub and pounced on Daniel, grabbing him by the shoulders. Vlad started shouting at the teen, shaking him violently to accent each word,

"I. DO. NOT. KNOW. WHAT. YOU. WANT!"

A tiny frightened noise caught between a whimper and a sob escaped Daniel. The anger drained from Vlad immediately and he saw his little ward, frail and terrified. Daniel's scared eyes were hollow and dark, highlighting how tired he was. Exhaustion was plaguing him just as much as it was Vlad. They were both tired, wet and cold. Vlad slid his hands from Daniel's shoulders and saw the bruises that were starting to form where he had gripped the fragile skin tightly. Vlad sighed but a sob caught in his throat instead.

"I...don't know what you need."

He stared at Daniel desperately and an uneasy silence fell over the room. They sat together on the cold, wet floor, occasionally glancing at each other. Suddenly Daniel reached over and prodded Vlad. When he had gotten Vlad's attention Daniel stuck out his tongue, almost playfully. Vlad was taken aback and stared incredulously at Daniel as he shyly prodded him again and stuck his tongue out. It was still a little red from the soup. It dawned on Vlad.

"Hot?"

Daniel nodded. After a beat of shocked silence Vlad coughed out a laugh and grabbed Daniel, dragging him into a hug. Daniel squirmed in Vlad's grasp but that only made the older man to draw him in tighter. Vlad tried again. He turned on the cold tap and added some bubble soap for good measure before picking Daniel up and placing him in the tub. The bath was barely lukewarm and Daniel willingly entered without fuss. He even started to play with the bubbles, reveling in the feeling of them popping as he ran his hands through the white foam. It didn't take Vlad long to give Daniel a good scrub. Especially since Vlad chose to use his ghost powers to phase away the soap and water, adding to the already considerable pool on the floor but leaving both of them dry. Vlad returned Daniel to a fresh, clean bed and flicked on a cartoon. It distracted Daniel enough to leave a tired Vlad alone with his thoughts.

Vlad mulled over his failures while fighting off sleep. Almost everything he had tried to bring Daniel comfort had backfired. A scalding bath, a bowl of hot soup, the sedation, and even the stuffed badgers were things that Vlad liked. They were things that Vlad took comfort in or made his life easier. Tired realization washed over Vlad and he rubbed his eyes, sighing. He had been selfish and he treated Daniel like a miniature version of himself. Daniel was different, as reluctant as Vlad was to admit it. Where Vlad ran hot, Daniel ran cold. They were made of a different mettle. Vlad started to run a hand through Daniel's hair trying to cover the scars again. But Daniel flinched. Reluctantly Vlad withdrew his hand, out of respect for Daniel's comfort and leaned back in his chair instead. The messy, half grown-in hair framed the horrible scars running across Daniel's skull. Vlad hated those scars. They were an ugly reminder of his failures. He stared, mulling over his mistakes until his heavy eyes closed and he fell asleep in his chair.

* * *

Vlad felt like he understood Daniel now and gave him space to heal on his own. His efforts paid off. Weeks passed and Daniel got stronger. He could eat on his own, dress himself and had even taken to flying across the property, exploring everything he could. The nightmares still persisted but they had become less violent as Daniel healed and grew more and more aware. Sedation was still the only way either of them got any rest but things were getting better. At least thats what Vlad tried to convince himself of.

Vlad hired the therapists Daniel needed as well as filling a room with a few million in top of the line equipment. Both the speech and physical therapist came once a week and Daniel received daily exercises and assignments to complete. He never did. Daniel would occasionally disappear entirely before a session and the clueless therapists would engage in a hopeless game of hide and seek. The game would only end when Vlad, armed with Skulker's heat-seeking goggles, found Daniel or when the therapist gave up and left.

Vlad watched bitterly as Daniel's latest therapy session drove out of the mile long driveway. It was another thousand or so dollars wasted. As Vlad slipped the heat-seeking goggles on he realized that Daniel wasn't improving as a human, only as a ghost. Daniel didn't even try to talk anymore, seemingly following Blau's example and letting everyone else try to figure out what he wanted through vague hand gestures and yes or no nods. It didn't surprise Vlad, his ward was surrounded by death. Only ghosts ever came to visit. The only interactions he ever had with humans were the brief hour long therapy sessions that he largely avoided. There was no one around to show him how to be human. Vlad stared at his hand, burning brighter than any human could through the goggles. He certainly wasn't one. Vlad continued to search for Daniel while trying to think of ways to fix him.

The sun was starting to set and Vlad couldn't find Daniel anywhere. Usually he would show up within an hour after the therapist left. Vlad's panic mounted as the minutes passed. He had begun to tear his mansion apart, searching desperately for his missing ward. Another hour passed. No Daniel. Vlads hand's shook and his breathing came in short, panicked gasps. He tried to push away the terrifying and numbing thoughts that they had come, that they had taken Daniel but he was overcome and fear wound it's way around his chest making breaths come in even shorter bursts and his vision start to blur. Vlad started screaming Daniel's name desperately at empty halls and rooms. He could hear the ghosts he hired echoing him as they searched as well. Their calls went unanswered.

Daniel was gone.

 **PART ONE: ESCAPE**

Concluded

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Author's Note: I wrote 'Waking Up' and 'Sleep' intending for them to be one chapter but it ended up going on and on. I really wanted part one to end with me introducing the team but that didn't end up working out. For those of you wondering where the Young Justice is in this Young Justice crossover, they will be coming next chapter


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